Challenges faced and lessons learned A multi-component prospective memory training program for Malaysian older adults.

Unlabelled: The surrounding circumstances and environments of Malaysian older adults could make conducting interventions (mainly in terms of clinical or randomized controlled trials) a challenge. Working with older adults and facing cultural issues could be challenging.

Objective: This paper illustrates a significant perspective of some of the challenges faced while conducting a randomized controlled trial exploring the impact of a multi-component intervention that included strategy- and process-based prospective memory (PM) training among Malaysian older adults.

Optical improvements in the diagnosis of bladder cancer: implications for clinical practice.

Background: For over 100 years white-light cystoscopy has remained the gold-standard technique for the detection of bladder cancer (BCa). Some limitations in the detection of flat lesions (CIS), the differentiation between inflammation and malignancy, the inaccurate determination of the tumor margin status as well as the tumor depth, have led to a variety of technological improvements. The aim of this review is to evaluate the impact of these improvements in the diagnosis of BCa and their effectiveness in clinical practice.

The Efficiency of a Multicomponent Training for Prospective Memory Among Healthy Older Adults: A Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Within-Participants Cross-Over Trial.

Objective: The main objective of the present trial was to evaluate the efficiency of a preventative multicomponent prospective memory training among healthy older adults.

Design: This study was a two-arm within-participants trial with 4- and 12-wk follow-ups. Allocation ratio was 1:1, and pretraining and posttraining measurements were included.

Relationship between Pb and Cd accumulations in house crow, their habitat, and food content from Klang area, Peninsular Malaysia.

Heavy metal pollution has become a global concern due to accumulation in tissue and transferable effects to humans via the food chain. This study focused on monitoring the accumulation of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in surface soil and body content: bone, heart, brain, liver, lung, muscle, kidney, feathers, feces, and gizzard contents of house crow Corvus splendens in the Klang region, Malaysia. The results revealed the occurrence of Pb and Cd in all biological samples from house crows, food contents, and surface soil samples.

Smartphone Assisted Naked Eye Detection of Mercury (II) Ion using Horseradish Peroxidase Inhibitive Assays.

Background: Mercury (II) ion, Hg2+ is among the most common pollutants with the ability to affect the environment. The implications of their elevation in the environment are mainly due to the industrialization and urbanization process. Current methods of Hg2+ detection primarily depend on sophisticated and expensive instruments.

The Effects of One Amino Acid Substitutions at the C-Terminal Region of Thermostable L2 Lipase by Computational and Experimental Approach.

The substitutions of the amino acid at the predetermined critical point at the C-terminal of L2 lipase may increase its thermostability and enzymatic activity, or even otherwise speed up the unfolding of the protein structure. The C-terminal of most proteins is often flexible and disordered. However, some protein functions are directly related to flexibility and play significant role in enzyme reaction.

Novel Anti-Tuberculosis Nanodelivery Formulation of Ethambutol with Graphene Oxide.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease responsible for millions of infections and preventable deaths each year. Its treatment is complicated by patients' noncompliance due to dosing frequency, lengthy treatment, and adverse side effects associated with current chemotherapy. However, no modifications to the half-a-century old standard chemotherapy have been made based on a nanoformulation strategy to improve pharmacokinetic efficacy.

Application of the Socio-Ecological Model to predict physical activity behaviour among Nigerian University students.

Introduction: Physical activity among university students is a catalyst for habitual physical activity in adulthood. Physical activity has many health benefits besides the improvement in academic performance. The present study assessed the predictors of physical activity among Nigerian university students using the Social Ecological Model (SEM).

Approximation solution for system of generalized ordered variational inclusions with ⊕ operator in ordered Banach space.

The resolvent operator approach is applied to address a system of generalized ordered variational inclusions with ⊕ operator in real ordered Banach space. With the help of the resolvent operator technique, Li (J. Inequal.

Volatile organic compounds (VOC), formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide (NO) in schools in Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Associations with rhinitis, ocular, throat and dermal symptoms, headache and fatigue.

This paper studied associations between volatile organic compounds (VOC), formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide (NO) and carbon dioxide (CO) in schools in Malaysia and rhinitis, ocular, nasal and dermal symptoms, headache and fatigue among students. Pupils from eight randomly selected junior high schools in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (N=462), participated (96%). VOC, formaldehyde and NO were measured by diffusion sampling (one week) and VOC also by pumped air sampling during class.

Topological properties of some sequences defined over 2-normed spaces.

The paper investigates some classes of real number sequences over 2-normed spaces defined by means of Orlicz functions, a bounded sequence of strictly positive real numbers, a multiplier and a normal paranormed sequence space. Relevant properties of such classes have been investigated. Moreover, relationships among different such classes of sequences have also been studied under various parameters and conditions.

The use of feather as an indicator for heavy metal contamination in house crow (Corvus splendens) in the Klang area, Selangor, Malaysia.

The Klang area of Peninsular Malaysia has experienced rapid industrial growth with intense activities, which can increase the concentration of pollutants in the environment that significantly impact on habitats and the human health. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of selected heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe, and Pb) in the heart, lung, brain, liver, kidney, muscle tissues, and feathers of house crow, Corvus splendens, in Klang, Peninsular Malaysia. House crow samples were collected from the Klang area through the Department of Public Health at Majlis Perbandaran Klang.

The valuation of currency options by fractional Brownian motion.

This research aims to investigate a model for pricing of currency options in which value governed by the fractional Brownian motion model (FBM). The fractional partial differential equation and some Greeks are also obtained. In addition, some properties of our pricing formula and simulation studies are presented, which demonstrate that the FBM model is easy to use.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Hexaminolevulinate- Versus White-Light Guided Transurethral Bladder Tumor Resection on Progression in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Although there is evidence that hexaminolevulinate (HAL)-based transurethral bladder tumor resection (TURBT) improves the detection of Ta-T1 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) as well as carcinoma there is uncertainty about its beneficial effects on progression. A systematic literature search was conducted according to the PRISMA statement to identify studies reporting on HAL- vs. white-light (WL-) based TUR-BT in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer between 2000 and 2016.

Effect of Nigella sativa on reproductive system in experimental menopause rat model.

Objective: Menopause is the condition when regular menstrual periods cease and may be accompanied by psychological and physical symptoms. The purpose of current study was to determine Nigella sativa effects on reproductive system in experimental menopause animal models.

Materials And Methods: A series of experiments was conducted to investigate the effects of different dosages of N.

Systemic anti-CTLA-4 and intravesical Bacille-Calmette-Guerin therapy in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: Is there a rationale of synergism?

Although intravesical instillation of Bacille-Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy was approved many decades ago as a first line therapy for intermediate to high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, its long-term efficacy is still arguable as a proportion of up to 30-40% of patients will develop recurrence or progression of their disease. Based on currently available data on the clinical application of checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors, the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue seems to be a main target for anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. In this manuscript we hypothesize that the combination of anti-CTLA-4 therapy with BCG might enhance the immune activity in the bladder submucosal tissue, and subsequently, improve oncological outcomes of NMIBC.

Assessment of total phenolic compounds and in vitro free radical scavenging potentials of water extracts of ten selected species of Zingiberaceae rhizomes use in folkloric medicine.

The use of herbal medicine and traditional healing practices for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness and ailment continue to have more awareness among the scientific community due to their safety and also as a source of alternatives to synthetic products. This research assessed the total phenolic compounds and in vitro total antioxidant potentials of water extracts in selected species of Zingiberaceae rhizomes use as spice, drinks and medicine. DPPH and FRAP were used to determine the antioxidant capacity, total flavonoid, phenolic acids and polyphenol contents assays to evaluate the quality of the antioxidant activity and the control was ascorbic acid.

Oral vaccine of Lactococcus lactis harbouring pandemic H1N1 2009 haemagglutinin1 and nisP anchor fusion protein elevates anti-HA1 sIgA levels in mice.

Objective: An oral lactococcal-based vaccine which haboured the haemagglutinin1 (HA1) antigen fused to nisP anchor protein for the purpose of surface displaying the HA1 antigen was developed against H1N1 virus.

Results: Recombinant L. lactis strains expressed HA1-nisP fusion proteins when induced with nisin, as confirmed through western blotting.

Hand movements classification for myoelectric control system using adaptive resonance theory.

This research proposes an exploratory study of a simple, accurate, and computationally efficient movement classification technique for prosthetic hand application. Surface myoelectric signals were acquired from the four muscles, namely, flexor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis, biceps brachii, and triceps brachii, of four normal-limb subjects. The signals were segmented, and the features were extracted with a new combined time-domain feature extraction method.

Facile synthesis of graphene oxide-silver nanocomposite and its modified electrode for enhanced electrochemical detection of nitrite ions.

In this report, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were successfully deposited on graphene oxide (GO) sheets to form GO-Ag nanocomposite using garlic extract and sunlight and the nanocomposite modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode was applied as an electrochemical sensor for the detection of nitrite ions. The formation of GO-Ag nanocomposite was confirmed by using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, TEM, XRD and FTIR spectroscopy analyses. Further, TEM pictures showed a uniform distribution Ag on GO sheets with an average size of 19 nm.

Air pollution and quality of sperm: a meta-analysis.

Context: Air pollution is common in all countries and affects reproductive functions in men and women. It particularly impacts sperm parameters in men. This meta-analysis aimed to examine the impact of air pollution on the quality of sperm.

Boosting diagnosis accuracy of Alzheimer's disease using high dimensional recognition of longitudinal brain atrophy patterns.

Objective: Boosting accuracy in automatically discriminating patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and normal controls (NC), based on multidimensional classification of longitudinal whole brain atrophy rates and their intermediate counterparts in analyzing magnetic resonance images (MRI).

Method: Longitudinal percentage of brain volume changes (PBVC) in two-year follow up and its intermediate counterparts in early 6-month and late 18-month are used as features in supervised and unsupervised classification procedures based on K-mean, fuzzy clustering method (FCM) and support vector machine (SVM). The most relevant features for classification are selected using discriminative analysis (DA) of features and their principal components (PC).

Intramedullary cement osteosynthesis (IMCO): a pilot study in sheep.

The application of bone substitutes and cements has a long standing history in augmenting fractures as a complement to routine fracture fixation techniques. Nevertheless, such use is almost always in conjunction with definite means of fracture fixation such as intramedullary pins or bone plates. The idea of using biomaterials as the primary fixation bears the possibility of simultaneous fixation and bone enhancement.