Development and validation of the Newborn Clubfoot Screening Checklist to improve the detection of postnatal congenital talipes equinovarus among newborns by non-orthopaedic-trained healthcare workers in Sarawak General Hospital: A cross-sectional prospective study.

Introduction: Non-orthopaedic-trained healthcare professionals face challenges in identifying postnatal clubfoot deformities due to the lack of suitable assessment tools, resulting in misdiagnosis. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate the Neonatal Clubfoot Screening Checklist (NCSC) to assist non-orthopaedic-trained healthcare professionals in postnatal clubfoot assessment.

Methods: The NCSC development involved five phases: conceptual understanding of deformity components, creation of pictorial representations, tool structure design, content and face validation, pilot study and field study.

Comprehensive Advancements in Hydrogel, and Its Application in Microalgae Cultivation and Wastewater Treatment.

Microalgae are recognized as a sustainable resource to produce biofertilizers, biofuels, and pigments, with the added benefits of environmental sustainability, such as carbon sequestration and pollutant removal. However, traditional cultivation methods face challenges like low biomass productivity and high operational costs. This review focuses on the innovative use of hydrogels as a medium for microalgae cultivation, which addresses these challenges by enhancing nutrient permeability, light distribution, and overall growth efficiency.

An independent Scientific Committee on Plastic Pollution (SCOPP).

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution seeks to address, among other issues, the science-policy interface of plastic pollution in the forthcoming international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (ILBI) to be finalised in 2024 by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). Given the importance of protecting the marine environment from plastic pollution, this paper reviews ILBI and argues that the UNEA should by Resolution establish an independent scientific committee. The committee should have an overarching global, regional, and local presence with institutional openness and accessibility to elucidate the science behind plastic pollution.

Household Food Insecurity among Indigenous Communities in Sarawak, Malaysia: Predictors and Coping Strategies.

Background: Food insecurity prevails in people at all phases of their life course and causes remarkable health, social, and financial repercussions. In Sarawak state, Malaysia, information regarding household food insecurity is limited.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of household food insecurity, together with its predictors and coping strategies among the Sarawak indigenous communities.

Factors influencing healthcare providers' behaviours in deprescribing: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Deprescribing serves as a pivotal measure to mitigate the drug-related problem due to polypharmacy. This study aimed to map the factors influencing healthcare providers' deprescribing decision using the Behaviour Change Wheel framework and develop an innovative conceptual model to support deprescribing practice.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey targeting doctors and pharmacists was conducted to assess the influence of various factors on healthcare providers' comfort in recommending deprescribing.

Robotic and Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy for Pheochromocytoma: An International Multicenter Study.

Background And Objective: Robotic adrenalectomy (RA) has attracted interest as an alternative to laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) for patients with pheochromocytoma, although its beneficial effects are uncertain. Our aim was to compare RA and LA outcomes for these patients.

Methods: Data for patients who underwent RA or LA for pheochromocytoma in 46 international centers between 2012 and 2022 were reviewed.

Clinical Impact of Constitutional Genomic Testing on Current Breast Cancer Care.

The most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide is cancer of the breast. Up to 20% of familial cases are attributable to pathogenic mutations in high-penetrance (BReast CAncer gene 1 [BRCA1], BRCA2, tumor protein p53 [TP53], partner and localizer of breast cancer 2 [PALB2]) or moderate-penetrance (checkpoint kinase 2 [CHEK2], Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated [ATM], RAD51C, RAD51D) breast-cancer-predisposing genes. Most of the breast-cancer-predisposing genes are involved in DNA damage repair via homologous recombination pathways.

A Multicomponent Workplace Environmental Intervention to Promote Physical Activity among the Staff of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

Background: Physical inactivity is a significant public health issue affecting working adults because it can increase the risk of noncommunicable diseases.

Objectives: The objective is to determine the outcomes of a multi-component workplace environmental intervention that incorporated physical activity self-regulation (PASR) to promote physical activity (PA) among employees.

Materials And Methods: This was a 6-month intervention with a two-group, parallel, quasi-experimental study.

Genomic analysis of a halophilic bacterium Nesterenkonia sp. CL21 with ability to produce a diverse group of lignocellulolytic enzymes.

Halophilic bacteria are extremophiles that thrive in saline environment. Their ability to withstand such harsh conditions makes them an ideal choice for industrial applications such as lignocellulosic biomass degradation. In this study, a halophilic bacterium with the ability to produce extracellular cellulases and hemicellulases, designated as Nesterenkonia sp.

Respirable dust exposure impact on respiratory symptoms among cleaners in a Selangor Public University, Malaysia.

Introduction: Cleaners perform a vital role in environmental health by keeping the place clean, but they are also exposed to various hazards. Yet, there is a lack of effective and accessible occupational safety standard measures, thus making this to be difficult to monitor the long-term health effects of cleaners. This study aims to determine the respirable dust exposure on respiratory symptoms among cleaners in a public university in Selangor.

Exploring measurement tools to optimise hospital physician distribution.

Introduction: Equitable healthcare delivery is essential and requires resources to be distributed, which include assets and healthcare workers. To date, there is no gold standard for measuring the correct number of physicians to meet healthcare needs. This rapid review aims to explore measurement tools employed to optimise the distribution of hospital physicians, with a focus on ensuring fair resource allocation for equitable healthcare delivery.

Blue carbon sink capacity of mangroves determined by leaves and their associated microbiome.

Mangroves play a globally significant role in carbon capture and storage, known as blue carbon ecosystems. Yet, there are fundamental biogeochemical processes of mangrove blue carbon formation that are inadequately understood, such as the mechanisms by which mangrove afforestation regulates the microbial-driven transfer of carbon from leaf to below-ground blue carbon pool. In this study, we addressed this knowledge gap by investigating: (1) the mangrove leaf characteristics using state-of-the-art FT-ICR-MS; (2) the microbial biomass and their transformation patterns of assimilated plant-carbon; and (3) the degradation potentials of plant-derived carbon in soils of an introduced (Sonneratia apetala) and a native mangrove (Kandelia obovata).

Towards circular economy: Potential of microalgae - bacterial-based biofertilizer on plants.

Biofertilizers encompass microorganisms that can be applied to plants, subsequently establishing themselves within the plant's rhizosphere or internal structures. This colonization stimulates plant development by enhancing nutrient absorption from the host. While there is growing literature documenting the applications of microalgae-based and bacterial-based biofertilizers, the research focusing on the effectiveness of consortia formed by these microorganisms as short-term plant biofertilizers is notably insufficient.

Development of a Malaysian potentially inappropriate prescribing screening tool in older adults (MALPIP): a Delphi study.

Introduction: Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) are common among older adults. To guide appropriate prescribing, healthcare professionals often rely on explicit criteria to identify and deprescribe inappropriate medications, or to start medications due to prescribing omission. However, most explicit PIM criteria were developed with inadequate guidance from quality metrics or integrating real-world data, which are rich and valuable data source.

Impact of deprescribing intervention on potentially inappropriate medications and clinical outcomes among hospitalized older adults in Malaysia: a randomized controlled trial (REVMED RCT) protocol.

Background: Polypharmacy and the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are prevalent among older patients admitted to hospitals, posing a heightened risk of adverse drug events. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led deprescribing intervention in reducing medications, PIM and improving clinical outcomes, using the locally developed Malaysian Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing Screening tool in Older Adults (MALPIP).

Methods: This is an 18-month cluster-randomized, open-label, parallel-arm controlled trial conducted at 14 public hospitals in the Perak state of Malaysia.

Intravenous thrombolysis for multi-ethnic Asians with acute ischaemia stroke in Malaysian public primary stroke centres versus acute stroke ready hospitals: Comparison of real-world clinical outcomes.

Introduction: Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator is beneficial in acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). We aim to compare the realworld clinical outcomes and service efficiency of IVT in Malaysian primary stroke centres (PSCs) versus acute stroke ready hospitals (ASRHs).

Materials And Methods: We conducted a multi-centre cohort study involving 5 PSCs and 7 ASRHs in Malaysia.

Postpartum health of working mothers: A prospective study.

Introduction: Most working women experience poor physical and mental health during their postpartum period. This prospective study aimed to describe the physical and mental health issues faced by working mothers during their postpartum period.

Methods: Respondents were recruited using the proportional sampling method among mothers who attended the Maternal and Child Health Clinic in the Kuching division in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Depression Level and Its Associated Factors among Postpartum Working Women in Kuching, Sarawak-A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Postpartum depression (PD) among women, if left untreated, may result in long-term health and social consequences for them and their families. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the factors contributing to PD among working mothers in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Methods: Systematic sampling was used to recruit working mothers who attended Kuching's maternal and child health clinics.

From ToyBox Study to eToyBox: Advancing Childhood Obesity Reduction in Malaysian Kindergartens.

Prevention and treatment of childhood obesity is a global concern, and in Malaysia, it is considered a national public health priority. Determinants of childhood obesity are multifactorial and include factors that directly and indirectly influence energy balance-related behaviours, including energy intake and energy expenditure. Interventions to address childhood obesity that have multiple components at different levels have been shown to be the most influential.