337 research outputs found
Policies are never implemented, but negotiated : analyzing integration of policies in managing water resources in the Indian Himalayas using a Bayesian network
No full textAuthor name used in this publication: Saravanan. V.SubramanianAuthor name used in this publication: David, Ip2009-2010 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishedGreen (AAM
A web-based screening tool for near-port air quality assessments
Get PDFAuthor(s): Isakov, Vlad; Barzyk, Timothy M; Smith, Elizabeth R; Arunachalam, Saravanan; Naess, Brian; Venkatram, Akul
Public confidence in police competency to combat crime / Gopala Krishnan Sekharan Nair … [et al.]
Get PDFIn recent times, the Malaysian public has expressed fears of increasing crime rate. However, the authorities have tried to dispel public fears by stating that crime rate has actually taken a dip and public worry is more a matter of perception rather than a fear caused by a real and genuine basis. The police point out that there will be a time gap between reduction of crime rate and a raise in public confidence as public confidence does not go up immediately when there has been an improvement in the crime situation. This paper investigated the level of fear of the public pertaining to being a victim of crime. Additionally, this paper investigated the factors that influenced the public opinion of the police such as police effectiveness in combating crime, corruption, brutality and personal links between police and the public. It is essential that the public should have a positive perception of the police force so that the force may be able to count on public cooperation in their efforts to combat crime and maintain public order. A sample size of 407 was taken for this study. The sample was stratified according to age groups and the level of education. It was found that most of the educated members from urban areas were not happy with the police as they felt that the police could be more effective in combating crime. This group also registered a higher fear level of being a crime victim. Fear of becoming a crime victim amongst the respondents. The respondents also felt that the recently repealed Emergency Ordinance (EO) which enables detention without trial should be reinstated. The public also felt that the police need more formidable intelligence gathering and the courts should mete out heavier punishment
Psychological well-being on thyroid hormone replacement
Get PDFDespite 100 years after the discovery of thyroxine, controversy still exists regarding optimal thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Several anecdotal reports suggest that thyroxine alone therapy does not normalise psychological wellbeing. My cross-sectional study (n=1922) provided the first evidence in support of the hypothesis that a small proportion of patients on thyroxine alone therapy have increased psychological morbidity despite having normal TSH (publication 1). My second study was the largest randomised placebo controlled study to date to compare the effects of thyroxine alone and combined T3/T4 therapy over a 12 months period. This categorically proved that thyroxine alone therapy should be the first choice for hypothyroid patients (publication 2). Further genetic analysis of the deiodinase genes showed that a sub-group of hypothyroid patients with an SNP on D2 gene do have reduced psychological wellbeing on thyroxine alone therapy and improve on combined T3/T4 therapy compared to those without (publication 5). Both these findings were shown only by our study and were possible because of the large size (n=700). Detailed analysis of the various thyroid hormones and their ratio from our study showed that in addition to TSH, free T4 should be taken into account when treating hypothyroid patients (publication 4). My pharmacokinetic study provided the crucial and first evidence of the profiles of thyroid hormones on once a day combined T3/T4 therapy, highlighting the need to use either slow-release T3 or multiple doses of T3 in a day (publication 3). Our invited commentary and review (publications 6-8 & 10) have highlighted the importance of “individualised set points” for thyroid hormones, the complexity of thyroid hormone transport and actions as well as an algorithm for approaching hypothyroid patients. My other work (publication 9) was the first to test the possibility and provided the first evidence of deiodinase gene polymorphisms affecting circulating thyroid hormone levels and their possible role in psychological wellbeing in normal population. Thus, my work in the area, “Psychological wellbeing in patients of thyroid hormone replacement therapy” has provided several landmark findings, resulting in 10 publications including 4 in JCEM, 2 in Lancet and 1 in Clinical Endocrinology
A need for new accident theories in Malaysia?
No full textWorkplace accident is a big challenges for a safety professional. Workplace accidents may lead from minor to serious
effects to both employees and employers alike. Accident is an unexpected and undesirable event, especially those
resulting in damage, harm or unforeseen incidents. This paper also discussed all available accident theories that are
commonly used in workplace as fundamental to mitigating accident. Throughout this paper, the author justified that a
new or updated accident theory is needed in Malaysia. The author stated that current accident theories are based on
different environments and are different in terms physical of the employee who involved in the accident. This author
also stated that technology changes is also another factor which can be supporting the new or updated accident
theory needed in Malaysia
Prevalence of dental fluorosis among primary school children in rural areas of Chidambaram taluk, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India
No full textBackground: Fluorosis is one of the common but major emerging areas of research in the tropics. It is considered endemic in 17 states of India. However, the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu is categorised as a fluorosis non-endemic area. But clinical cases of dental fluorosis were reported in the field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, Rajah Muthiah Medical College, Annamalai University, Chidambaram. Since dental fluorosis has been described as a biomarker of exposure to fluoride, we assessed the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis among primary school children in the service area. Materials and Methods: Children studying in six primary schools of six villages in the field practice area of Rural Health Centre of Faculty of Medicine, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, were surveyed. Every child was clinically examined at the school by calibrated examiners with Dean′s fluorosis index recommended by WHO (1997). Chi-square test, Chi-square trend test and Spearman′s rank correlation coefficient test were used for statistical analysis. Results: Five hundred and twenty-five 5- to 12-year-old school children (255 boys and 270 girls) were surveyed. The overall dental fluorosis prevalence was found to be 31.4% in our study sample. Dental fluorosis increased with age P < 0.001, whereas gender difference was not statistically significant. Aesthetically objectionable dental fluorosis was found in 2.1% of the sample. Villages Senjicherry, Keezhaperambai and Kanagarapattu revealed a community fluorosis index (CFI) score of 0.43, 0.54 and 0.54 with 5.6%, 4.8% and 1.4% of objectionable dental fluorosis, respectively. Correlation between water fluoride content and CFI values in four villages was noted to be positively significant. Conclusion: Three out of six villages studied were in ′borderline′ public health significance (CFI score 0.4-0.6). A well-designed epidemiological investigation can be undertaken to evaluate the risk factors associated with the condition in the study region
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