Chemical extraction and quantification of extracellular polymeric substances in unspiked-metaldehyde and spiked-metaldehyde of rubber aerobic granular sludge and molasses aerobic granular sludge

Azlina Mat Saad,Farrah Aini Dahalan,Naimah Ibrahim,Sara Yasina Yusuf 대한환경공학회 2023 Environmental Engineering Research Vol.28 No.6

Understanding the Breast Cancer Experience: a Qualitative Study of Malaysian Women

Yusuf, Azlina,Ab Hadi, Imi Sairi,Mahamood, Zainal,Ahmad, Zulkifli,Keng, Soon Lean Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.6

Breast cancer is the most common and leading cause of cancer mortality among Malaysian women. Despite good survival rates, the diagnosis of cancer still invokes the feeling of stress, fear and uncertainty. Because very little is known about the experiences of Malaysian women with breast cancer, a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experience of newly diagnosed breast cancer. Using a purposive sampling method, 20 Malaysian women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, including Malays (n=10) and Chinese (n=10) were recruited in two main public hospitals in Kelantan. Similarities and divergence in women's experience were identified through thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Three themes emerged from the data: uncertainty experience of the illness, transition process and fatalistic view of breast cancer. In many ways, these findings were parallel with previous studies, suggesting that the experience of breast cancer is to a certain extent similar among women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. This study adds to the sparse literature concerning the experience of illness following breast cancer diagnosis among the Malays and Chinese. More importantly, this study addressed areas that were previously lacking, specifically in depth information on breast cancer experience from a developing country with a multi-ethnic population. The results of this investigation provide preliminary information to healthcare professionals on the impact of illness and cultural influence on survivorship to plan for appropriate education and supportive programme in order to meet the needs of breast cancer women more effectively.

Quality of Life in Malay and Chinese Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in Kelantan, Malaysia

Yusuf, Azlina,Hadi, Imi Sairi Ab.,Mahamood, Zainal,Ahmad, Zulkifli,Keng, Soon Lean Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.1

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Malaysia. A diagnosis is very stressful for women, affecting all aspects of their being and quality of life. As such, there is little information on quality of life of women with breast cancer across the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of life in Malay and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study involved 58 Malays and 15 Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer prior to treatment. Quality of life was measured using the Malay version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and its breast-specific module (QLQ-BR23). Socio-demographic and clinical data were also collected. All the data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: Most of the women were married with at least a secondary education and were in late stages of breast cancer. The Malay women had lower incomes (p=0.046) and more children (p=0.001) when compared to the Chinese women. Generally, both the Malay and Chinese women had good functioning quality-of-life scores [mean score range: 60.3-84.8 (Malays); 65.0-91.1 (Chinese)] and global quality of life [mean score 60.3, SD 22.2 (Malays); mean score 65.0, SD 26.6 (Chinese)]. The Malay women experienced more symptoms such as nausea and vomiting (p=0.002), dyspnoea (p=0.004), constipation (p<0.001) and breast-specific symptoms (p=0.041) when compared to the Chinese. Conclusions: Quality of life was satisfactory in both Malays and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan. However, Malay women had a lower quality of life due to high general as well as breast-specific symptoms. This study finding underlined the importance of measuring quality of life in the newly diagnosed breast cancer patient, as it will provide a broader picture on how a cancer diagnosis impacts multi-ethnic patients. Once health care professionals understand this, they might then be able to determine how to best support and improve the quality of life of these women during the difficult times of their disease and on-going cancer treatments.

Unsuccessful Exclusive Breastfeeding and Associated Factors among the Healthcare Providers in East Coast, Malaysia

Saodah Hashim,Azlina Ishak,Juliawati Muhammad 대한가정의학회 2020 Korean Journal of Family Medicine Vol.41 No.6

Background: Breastfeeding is widely recognized as the optimal and natural method of feeding infants. However, there are obstacles that can limit exclusive breastfeeding practices during the first 6 months of an infant’s life. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of unsuccessful exclusive breastfeeding and its associated factors among mothers who work as healthcare providers at Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 295 medical doctors and staff nurses from June to December 2015. Simple random sampling was applied. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS ver. 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: The prevalence of unsuccessful exclusive breastfeeding among the study participants was 58.3%. Mothers who preferred formula milk (odds ratio [OR], 4.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45–13.31) delivered via lower segment cesarean section (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.07–4.98) and produced inadequate breast milk (OR, 4.06; 95% CI, 2.40– 6.89) were significantly associated with unsuccessful exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusion: The prevalence of unsuccessful exclusive breastfeeding among the study participants was high. Maternal characteristics such as preference towards formula milk, mode of delivery and adequacy of breast milk must be assessed to prevent unsuccessful exclusive breastfeeding among healthcare providers.

Intermodal Container Movement In Malaysia: Challenges And Strategies To Enhance Its Usage

Shahrin Nasir,Azlina Muhammad,Harlina Suzana Jaafar KINFORMS 2019 Management Review Vol.14 No.1

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that could influence the increase usage of intermodal for container transport in Malaysia. This study uses in-depth interviews with experts in container transport for data collection. The interviews were conducted with the road haulage operators, rail operator, inland terminal operators, port operators and freight forwarding operators. The most common challenges that could influence the increase usage of intermodal in Malaysia were efficiency, management issues and cost factor. Some improvements on these factors could make the rail-road intermodal container transport as attractive as the conventional road haulage services. Malaysia needs to emphasise more on promoting the high reliability, low cost and environment factors for a successful intermodal service. This study is limited to the container movement from ports to the important industrial areas in Malaysia and vice versa. The factors that influence the usage of intermodal can contribute to a better understanding on the best way to increase the current usage of the service. to develop possible strategies for improving the intermodal hinterland container transport system logistics in Malaysia. The study benefited the actors involve to improve rail-road intermodal container transport services.

Persistent Shoulder Pain in Young Male: Osteosarcoma

Punitha Arinima,Azlina Ishak 대한가정의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Family Medicine Vol.39 No.4

A 16-year-old Malay boy presented to Kota Bharu Health Care Centre, Kelantan, with left shoulder pain after sustaininga fall. On further history taking, it was noted that the pain preceded the fall by 1 month. The early changes ofosteosarcoma were visible on an X-ray during the initial presentation; however, this was missed by the primary caredoctors. Three months later, the patient presented with persistent pain in the left shoulder and was diagnosed withosteosarcoma.

Saka and the Abject : Masculine Dominance, the Mother and Contemporary Malay Horror Films

AZIZ, Jamaluddin Bin,ASAARI, Azlina Bt 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2014 Asian Journal of Women's Studies(AJWS) Vol.20 No.1

Malay horror films have made a comeback since the government of Malaysia in 2004 gradually relaxed the ban. Since then, Malaysian cinema has been flooded with horror films, and this causes concern among politicians as they argue that horror films can impede the growth of the mind, as the values perpetuated by horror films are seen to go against the government’s effort to promote scientific and critical thinking among Malaysians. We argue that understanding the current view that consigns this film genre to the feminine side of the binary system, hence, the irrational as opposed to the rational or masculine, is one of the reasons for such concern. Employing Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection in the tradition of feminist psychoanalysis as the theoretical framework, this paper looks at the mother character and her relationship with Saka in a contemporary Malay horror film to reveal the ideological work of such masculine ideology. Saka is a mystical figure that is “invited” into a family and is passed down through the matrilineal line from one generation to the next. We argue that even though Saka is used as an entrapment for female liberatory possibilities, it ironically mirrors the destabilization of masculine dominance. We do this by illustrating how female characters in the genre are typecast and Saka functions as a masculine substitute that reinforces this idea, which ultimately is used to investigate female sexuality; hence, playing the typical role of masculine ideological dominance. Filem Seram telah muncul kembali setelah dilonggarkan syarat oleh kerajaan Malaysia pada tahun 2004. Sejak itu, terdapat kebanjiran filem seram, ini menjadikan satu fenomena yang merisaukan ahli politik yang membahaskan yang kebanjiran ini mampu membantutkan permikiran kerana nilai yang disampaikan oleh filem seram ini bercanggah dengan usaha kerajaan untuk mempromosi permikiran saintifik dan kritikal. Kami membahaskan bahawa dengan mencampakkan genre seram ini ke bahagian feminin dalam system binari, yakni yang tidak rasional berbanding sifat maskulin yang dikira rasional, adalah satu punca isu ini. Dengan menggunakan konsep abjection oleh Julia Kristeva dalam tradisi feminis psikoanalisis sebagai kerangka teori, makalah ini melihat kepada watak ibu dan hubungan beliau dengan Saka dalam satu filem seram kontemporari untuk merungkai ideologi maskulin yang terdapat dalam teks filem ini. Saka adalah satu kuasa yang diundang ke dalam sesuatu keluarga dan biasanya diturunkan melalui sebelah ibu. Kami membahaskan walaupun Saka digunakan sebagai satu perangkap kepada kemungkinan wanita untuk bebas, ia secara ironisnya mencerminkan ketidakstabilan dominasi maskulin. Kami membuktikan ini dengan menyatakan yang wanita dalam genre ini tidak progresif dan Saka berfungsi sebagai pengganti maskulin yang mengukuhkan dakwaan ini, yang akhirnya menyiasat seksualiti wanita. Hal ini menjadikan mereka alat memainkan maskulin yang dominan.

Comparison of the Outcome in Bilateral Staged Total Hip Arthroplasty: Modified Two-Incision Minimally Invasive Technique versus the Conventional Posterolateral Approach

Masjudin Tumin,박경순,윤택림,Azlina Amir Abbas 전남대학교 의과학연구소 2014 전남의대학술지 Vol.50 No.1

This retrospective study was undertaken to compare the outcomes of staged bilateraltotal hip arthroplasty (THA) by the conventional approach with those of two-incisionminimally invasive (MIS-2) THA in terms of clinical and radiological results, complications,and patient preferences. Twenty-two patients aged 30 to 80 years underwentstaged bilateral THA. The conventional posterolateral approach was used on the firsthips treated and a modified MIS-2 approach on the second hips. The mean time betweenthe first and second procedures was 73.8 months, and the patients were followed upfor at least 12 months after both procedures. At the last follow-up visits, THA via theMIS-2 approach was found to provide significantly earlier partial-weight-bearing ambulation,better postoperative Harris hip scores, and better ability to sit cross-leggedand was found to be more preferred by patients than conventional THA. There wereno significant differences in the complication rates for the two approaches. The presentresults show that MIS-2 THA is as safe as the conventional posterolateral approachin experienced hands and presents no additional complication risks.

Trends in the local housing market

Abdul G. Sarip,Nor Azlina Sulaiman 한국주거학회 2007 한국주거학회 국제학술대회논문집 Vol.2007 No.8

Saka and the Abject: Masculine Dominance, the Mother and Contemporary Malay Horror Films

Jamaluddin Bin AZIZ,Azlina Bt ASAARI 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2014 Asian Journal of Women's Studies(AJWS) Vol.10 No.1

Malay horror films have made a comeback since the government of Malaysia in 2004 gradually relaxed the ban. Since then, Malaysian cinema has been flooded with horror films, and this causes concern among politicians as they argue that horror films can impede the growth of the mind, as the values perpetuated by horror films are seen to go against the government’s effort to promote scientific and critical thinking among Malaysians. We argue that understanding the current view that consigns this film genre to the feminine side of the binary system, hence, the irrational as opposed to the rational or masculine, is one of the reasons for such concern. Employing Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection in the tradition of feminist psychoanalysis as the theoretical framework, this paper looks at the mother character and her relationship with Saka in a contemporary Malay horror film to reveal the ideological work of such masculine ideology. Saka is a mystical figure that is “invited” into a family and is passed down through the matrilineal line from one generation to the next. We argue that even though Saka is used as an entrapment for female liberatory possibilities, it ironically mirrors the destabilization of masculine dominance. We do this by illustrating how female characters in the genre are typecast and Saka functions as a masculine substitute that reinforces this idea, which ultimately is used to investigate female sexuality; hence, playing the typical role of masculine ideological dominance.