Using Simplified Thematic Engagement of Professionalism Scale to Promote Professional Development in Paediatric Undergraduate Posting

Event Abstract Back to Event Acute stress induces voluntary alcohol intake in mice through anxiety mitigated by toll-like receptor 4 antagonist Huei G. Chuang1, Sangu Muthuraju1*, Nur Naznee H. Abd Aziz2, Mustapha Muzaimi2, Jafri M. Abdullah1, 2 and Zamzuri Idris1, 2 1 Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia 2 Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia Background Evidences previously supporting the functional involvement of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the mediation of neuroimmune system, further promoting the emergence of alcohol drinking behaviour following stress exposure. Thus, this study focused to investigate the effect of TLR4 antagonist Lipopolysaccharide-Rhodobacter Sphaeroides(LPS-RS) on the stress-induced voluntary alcohol drinking behaviour, neuronal component, and genes expression associating with stress and addiction. Methods This study involved the exposure of restraint and social isolation stress using Swiss Albino mice. Two-bottle choice ethanol exposure method was used in the evaluation of voluntary ethanol drinking behaviour. Several behavioural assessments including elevated plus-maze, light-dark box exploration, open field maze, beam walking test, and wire hanging test were carried out to assess the fear and anxiety-like behaviour, locomotion, motor coordination, and neuromuscular ability. Morphological and immunoreactivity analysis and genes expression analysis were done after the completion of behavioural assessments. Results TLR4 antagonist LPS-RS treated stressed-mice showed a significant decrease in the ethanol intake compared to stressed mice. Behaviourally, acute stress did not cause any significant deficits on the motor coordination, neuromuscular ability, locomotion, exploratory behaviour and risk-assessment behaviour. Behavioural results proved that acute stress exposure causing the emergence of fear and anxiety-like behaviour in the stressed mice. Morphological analysis showed no significant changes in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus among all groups, while in immunoreactivity analysis, stressed-mice showed a significant increase immunoreactivity of c-FOS in both prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, significant increase immunoreactivity of TLR4 in prefrontal cortex and GFAP in hippocampus. Stressed-mice too showed significant increase in the TLR4, NF-Kappa, iNOS, DRD2, CREB-1, and OPRM-1 genes expression compared to control and LPS-RS treated mice. Conclusion TLR4 suppression using antagonist LPS-RS could be effective in reducing the ethanol intake among stress-exposed mice suggested that TLR4 suppression might provide a therapeutic value in the treatment of stress-induced alcohol addiction. Acknowledgements We thank the School of Medical Sciences, Pusat Pengajian Sains Perubatan (PPSP), Universiti Sains Malaysia. This work has been supported by project number 304/PPSP/61313158 from the Short-term Grant received by Dr. Sangu Muthuraju. Keywords: Toll-like recepter 4 (TLR4), acute stress, Addiction, Alcohol drinking behavior, Lipopolysaccharide-Rhodobacter Sphaeroides(LPS-RS) Conference: International Conference on Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine 2018 (ICDDTM '18) “Seizing Opportunities and Addressing Challenges of Precision Medicine”, Putrajaya, Malaysia, 3 Dec - 5 Feb, 2019. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Miscellaneous Citation: Chuang HG, Muthuraju S, Abd Aziz NH, Muzaimi M, Abdullah JM and Idris Z (2019). Acute stress induces voluntary alcohol intake in mice through anxiety mitigated by toll-like receptor 4 antagonist. Front. Pharmacol. Conference Abstract: International Conference on Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine 2018 (ICDDTM '18) “Seizing Opportunities and Addressing Challenges of Precision Medicine”. doi: 10.3389/conf.fphar.2018.63.00073 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Sep 2018; Published Online: 17 Jan 2019. * Correspondence: Dr. Sangu Muthuraju, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan Darul Naim, 16150, Malaysia, muthuraju67@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Huei G Chuang Sangu Muthuraju Nur Naznee H Abd Aziz Mustapha Muzaimi Jafri M Abdullah Zamzuri Idris Google Huei G Chuang Sangu Muthuraju Nur Naznee H Abd Aziz Mustapha Muzaimi Jafri M Abdullah Zamzuri Idris Google Scholar Huei G Chuang Sangu Muthuraju Nur Naznee H Abd Aziz Mustapha Muzaimi Jafri M Abdullah Zamzuri Idris PubMed Huei G Chuang Sangu Muthuraju Nur Naznee H Abd Aziz Mustapha Muzaimi Jafri M Abdullah Zamzuri Idris Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Mentoring programme is an important element for personal and professional development of medical students. In specific, the most important element is mentors must focus on the real issues that the students face during the mentoring process. This study aimed at comparing the prevalence of the mentoring needs and examining the association between characteristics of demography and mentoring needs among the phase 1 medical students from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2017 among the first- and second-year medical students in the School of Medical Sciences, USM. The USM mentoring inventory (USM-MT-i) questionnaire was employed to collect the data. This self-administered questionnaire consists of two domains with 17 items: communication and self-leadership skills (9 items) and learning skill (8 items). Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) for each domain were 0.915 and 0.904, respectively. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.895. The prevalence of mentoring needs was determined and its association with the year of study was assessed. This study included 208 of medical students comprised 123 and 85 of the first-year and the second-year, respectively. The prevalence of communication and self-leadership skills mentoring needs among the first-year medical students was 26.8% (95% CI: 22.9%, 30.6%) and 18.8% (95% CI: 14.8%, 23.0%) among the second-year medical students. The prevalence of learning skill mentoring need was 77.2% (95% CI: 73.6%, 81.0%) among the first-year and 63.5% (95% CI: 58.5%, 68.6%) among the second-year medical students. There was a significant association between year of study and learning skill mentoring need (χ2 (1) = 4.65, P = 0.031). None of the demographic characteristics (gender, ethnic, entry qualification, origin and scholarship) was significantly associated with the mentoring needs. The data of mentoring needs among the phase 1 of medical training is crucial to provide them an effective mentoring programme.

Extensively Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Kelantan East Coast of Malaysia: First Two Cases

Event Abstract Back to Event A study on optimal concentrations of isodiospyrin putative inhibitory actions against exonic splicing enhancers of Dystrophin gene exon 53 skipping in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Hussain S. Alzahrani1*, Roslina Rashid2, Muzaimi Mustapha1 and Teguh H. Sasongko2 1 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Malaysia 2 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Human Genome Center, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Malaysia Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disorder. It is characterized by rapid loss of muscular tissues due lacking gene of muscle replacement. The DMD gene is responsible for Dystrophin protein expression, which exists within a complex called Dystrophin glycol-protein complex (DGC). Exon mutations within DMD gene cause defective expression of Dystrophin. This study aimed to determine the inhibitory actions of Isodiospyrin targeting splicing factors and SR protein (Serine-arginine rich amino acids) a known topoisomerase inhibitor, which plays a critical role in splice site selection. previous studies demonstrated that Isodiospyrin has antitumor activity and inhibits topoisomerase enzyme from phosphorylating SF2/ASF splicing factor. In the current study we used plasmid of non-mutated exon 53 minigenes, transfected into non-mutated HEK-293 cell lines. Then, observed its actions on cells viability and exon splicing modification. The later was confirmed using RT-PCR, followed by exon 53 sequence software analysis. In consistence with previous studies, concentration of half maximal inhibitory effect (IC50) was 3.58µM, and the optimal inhibitory concentrations were: 1.79, 0.90, and 0.60µM. However, there was no detection of exon 53 skipping when exposing non-mutated HEK-293 cells to the optimal concentrations of Isodiospyrin compound. The results suggest that exon 53 splicing may occur without phosphorylation of SR proteins targeted by Isodiospyrin, which indicated that the splicing of exon 53 occurred independently of SR proteins targeted by the splicing inhibitor Isodiospyrin ,in non-mutated HEK-293 cells. Keywords: Gene Expression, inhibition, in vitro, Exon splicing, Duchenne muscular dystrophy Conference: 14th Meeting of the Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 27 Aug - 30 Aug, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Session Topic: 14th Meeting of the Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry Citation: Alzahrani HS, Rashid R, Mustapha M and Sasongko TH (2016). A study on optimal concentrations of isodiospyrin putative inhibitory actions against exonic splicing enhancers of Dystrophin gene exon 53 skipping in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Conference Abstract: 14th Meeting of the Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry. doi: 10.3389/conf.fncel.2016.36.00120 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 04 Aug 2016; Published Online: 11 Aug 2016. * Correspondence: Mr. Hussain S Alzahrani, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, 16150, Malaysia, hssz_23@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Hussain S Alzahrani Roslina Rashid Muzaimi Mustapha Teguh H Sasongko Google Hussain S Alzahrani Roslina Rashid Muzaimi Mustapha Teguh H Sasongko Google Scholar Hussain S Alzahrani Roslina Rashid Muzaimi Mustapha Teguh H Sasongko PubMed Hussain S Alzahrani Roslina Rashid Muzaimi Mustapha Teguh H Sasongko Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Journal Article Pneumonia, Pericarditis, and Endocarditis in a Child with Corynebacterium xerosis Septicemia Get access A. S. Malik, A. S. Malik Department of Paediatrics and Microbiology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Alam Sher Malik, Department of Paediatrics, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, 16150 Kelantan, Malaysia. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar M. R. Johari M. R. Johari Department of Paediatrics and Microbiology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 20, Issue 1, January 1995, Pages 191–192, https://doi.org/10.1093/clinids/20.1.191-a Published: 01 January 1995

Using standardized patients to assess medical students' professionalism.

Background: The weekly held clinical pathologic case conference popularly known as CPC provides an effective and regular educational media of collaborative learning for inter-disciplinary exchange of knowledge among the faculty members of an institution. CPC has been routinely practiced for the last two decades in School of medical Sciences (SMS) at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). An hour session primarily involves a case presentation hiding the diagnosis followed by discussion on differential diagnosis and floor interaction on interesting clinical cases. It also gives an opportunity to new teaching staff in the institution to experience an in-house practice of presenting the clinical cases; witch can readily be reproduced as a case report for publication. An effort to follow the original format of CPC is comprehended as an essential outcome of this study to keep up the sanctity of CPC as a case method of learning medicine in future. Methodology: A questionnaire-based survey was recently conducted to evaluate the weekly held CPC in SMS. It was a cross sectional survey in which a questionnaire comprising of 23 items was administered to a targeted population of faculty members of School of Medical Sciences. The items in questionnaire were grouped into 5 clusters. All respondents were adequately briefed through a letter addressing the objectives and importance of survey and its appraisal aiming to revamp the CPC guided by the out-come of study. Questionnaires were administered to 240 academic staff, covering > 80% of the target population of 294 faculty members. 159 (66.2%) members of sample population completed the questionnaires. Total non-responses were 81 (33.7%) and item non-responses were 320 (8.7%) Result: All the items in questionnaire were found significant ( p 0.016) except those two items related to, observing a difference in preparing for a case presentation verses a formal CPC presentation and its promotion ( p 0.556 and 0.197 respectively). It was also established that the major respondents were unaware of the original format of CPC ( p 0.003) in which a presenter select and prepares a case, which is discussed with participating faculty members for its differential diagnoses. 51.6% faculty members did not follow the formal CPC format (p 0.016) in their presentations. A lack of awareness about the format of CPC was shown by (61.0%) faculty members ( p 0.003). Conclusion : It was concluded that emphasis to discuss the differential diagnosis by a competent discussant was lacking, as presenters did not follow the formal CPC format. It was critically observed that a number of presentations made in this weekly program deviate from the original format adapted by SMS in USM. However, the out-come appraisal of this survey was the pledge shown by the majority faculty members to adapt the guidelines as a reverence to the formal CPC format.

There is considerable evidence that emotional intelligence, previous academic achievement (i.e. cumulative grade point average (GPA)) and personality are associated with success in various occupational settings. This study evaluated the relationships of these variables with psychological health of first year medical students during stressful periods. A 1-year prospective study was done with students accepted into the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Information on emotional intelligence, GPA and personality traits were obtained prior to admission. The validated Universiti Sains Malaysia Emotional Quotient Inventory and Universiti Sains Malaysia Personality Inventory were used to measure emotional intelligence and personality traits, respectively. Stress, anxiety and depression were measured by the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale during the end-of-course (time 1) and final (time 2) examinations. At the less stressful period (time 1), stress level was associated with agreeableness and the final GPA, anxiety level was associated with emotional control and emotional conscientiousness and depression level was associated with the final GPA and extraversion. At the more stressful period (time 2), neuroticism associated with stress level, anxiety level was associated with neuroticism and emotional expression, and depression level was associated with neuroticism. This study found that neuroticism was the strongest associated factor of psychological health of medical students during their most stressful testing period. Various personality traits, emotional intelligence and previous academic performance were associated factors of psychological health during a less stressful period. These data suggest that early identification of medical students who are vulnerable to the stressful environment of medical schools might help them maintain psychological well-being during medical training.

The prevalence of distress among medical students continues to rise. Studies have shown that stressrelated to examinations – test anxiety (TA) – is the most frequently reported source of distress. Research on the relationship between TA and assessment modalities is thus critical for determining the potential ramifications of this problem. This study aimed to explore assessment modalities that aggravate TA among medical students in a Malaysian medical school. A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students at the School of Medical Sciences (SMS) of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Students rated TA for each assessment modality used in the school. Each modality was scored from 1 to 10, with 1 indicating no TA and 10 representing extreme TA. Forty-five students participated in the study. The group was divided almost equally in terms of sex. The assessment modalities that provoked the most TA were the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), the short case, the short essay question (SEQ) and the long case, with mean scores of 7.9, 7.8, 7.7 and 7.7, respectively. The case write-up, the problem-based learning (PBL) assessment, the multiple true-false (MTF) questions and the Simplified Thematic Engagement of Professionalism Scale (STEPS) were the assessment methods that induced the least TA, with mean scores of 5.1, 5.0, 4.4 and 4.0, respectively. This study found that the worst assessment modalities in terms of TA were the OSCE, the short and long cases, and the short essay question, while the case write-up, the PBL assessment, the MTF questions, and the STEPS induced the least TA. Most students reported that memorisation difficulties and facing examiners were the most common causes of TA. Remedial measures include examiner training on how to deal with examinees during assessments, evaluating the distribution of marks according to assessment modality and student training focused on study skills and exam preparation.

Various methods have been implemented in the medical field to foster professional basic skills among students. Nevertheless, the contribution of a community placement programme (CPP) with regard to first year of medical students is still unclear. The study objective is to explore how CPP contributes to the development of professional basic skills among students within this group. This qualitative study was conducted between January 2017 and March 2018. Two batches of the first-year medical students with a total of 24 students were involved in the study. The data were gathered using reflective journals which were written from a one-day English camp that was held at the Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Medical Sciences. A total of 24 reflective journals have been used as data sources which were then analysed using ATLAS.ti software version 8.0 based on the open, axial and selective coding process. The result has shown that professional skills were established through three themes and eight categories. The themes were personal skills (e.g., time management, self-management, self-confident, social adjustment, internal motivation and communication skill), leadership skills (e.g., teamwork) and scientific skills (e.g., proposal writing skills). CPP is an agenda to nurture the medical students’ professional basic skills. Therefore, such an agenda must continue to be included in medical education.

© www.eduimed.com | e1 CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Prof. Dr. Rogayah Ja’afar, Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 1650, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia. Email: rogayah@kb.usm.my © Medical Education Department, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. All rights reserved. Two decades of championing faculty development: Is it worth the effort?

Department of Orthopaedics, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia Correspondence to Abdul R. Sulaiman, MD, Department of Orthopaedics, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia Tel: +60 976 76398; fax: +60 976 53370; e-mail: [email protected]

Event Abstract Back to Event Evaluation of human amniotic membrane as a scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering: An in vitro study Asrar Elahi1*, Haslina Taib1, Zurairah Berahim1, Azlina Ahmad2 and Suzina S. AbHamid3 1 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Periodontics Unit, School of Dental Sciences, Malaysia 2 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Molecular Biology, School of Dental Sciences, Malaysia 3 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Tissue Bank, School of Medical Sciences, Malaysia Human amniotic membrane (HAM) has many biological properties suitable for periodontal tissue regeneration such as low immunogenicity, anti-fibrosis, anti-inflammation and rich in extracellular matrix component. It is biocompatible and provides good characteristic for cells attachment and proliferation. It has been used as a scaffold/substrate for periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs)[1], human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs)[2], periosteal-derived cell sheet[3] and human dental pulp-derived cells[4. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of this membrane as a scaffold for the growth of the main cells in periodontal regeneration, human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPDLFs). In this study, commercially available hPDLFs (Lonza, USA) were cultured in α-MEM till passage 6. The hPDLFs (5.0×104 cells) were then seeded on 1 cm2 glycerol preserved HAM (USM Tissue Bank, Malaysia) in 6-well plate at 37°C with 5% CO2. HAM only was used as a control. Proliferation test using alamarBlue® assay was done for the assessment of cell viability and the hPDLFs attachment and proliferation were observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis at day 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21. P<0.05 was considered as significant. The proliferation assay showed that hPDLFs viability on HAM had increased significantly compared to control from day 3 to 7 (p=0.003) (Table 1). However, the proliferation of cells on HAM showed significant reduction at day 14 (p=0.002) and day 21 (p=0.005). SEM analysis demonstrated that hPDLFs had attached appropriately on HAM surface at day 1 to day 3 and became overlapping at day 7, while maintaining their flat shape (Fig. 1). Consistent with the reduction of cell activities, some of the cells demonstrated alteration in their morphology and later became rounded at day 14 and 21. This study showed that HAM is able to function well as a scaffold for hPDLFs within 7 days. Retardation of cellular growth later on could be due to possible reason such as density dependent inhibition of growth[5] which may eventually lead to cell death and detachment. In conclusion, the findings suggest that HAM could be a promising scaffold for periodontal regeneration. However, cells’ behaviour in relation to the membrane over longer culture duration requires further investigations. Figure 1 Acknowledgements This research was supported by Universtiti Sains Malaysia Research Universiti Grant (1001/PPSG/812168). Keywords: Regeneration, Tissue Engineering, Tissue Scaffolds, Amniotic membrane, Periodontal Conference: 6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting, Seberang Jaya, Penang, Malaysia, 17 Nov - 18 Nov, 2016. Presentation Type: Oral Topic: Biomaterials and Tissue Regeneration Citation: Elahi A, Taib H, Berahim Z, Ahmad A and AbHamid SS (2016). Evaluation of human amniotic membrane as a scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering: An in vitro study. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. Conference Abstract: 6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.02.00021 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 08 Dec 2016; Published Online: 19 Dec 2016. * Correspondence: Dr. Asrar Elahi, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Periodontics Unit, School of Dental Sciences, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, 16150, Malaysia, asrarelahi@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Asrar Elahi Haslina Taib Zurairah Berahim Azlina Ahmad Suzina S AbHamid Google Asrar Elahi Haslina Taib Zurairah Berahim Azlina Ahmad Suzina S AbHamid Google Scholar Asrar Elahi Haslina Taib Zurairah Berahim Azlina Ahmad Suzina S AbHamid PubMed Asrar Elahi Haslina Taib Zurairah Berahim Azlina Ahmad Suzina S AbHamid Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

A cross-sectional study to assess job strain and its associated factors among lecturers of the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) was undertaken between August 2001 and May 2002. The original English version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) version 1.7 (revised 1997) by Robert Karasek based on the Job Strain Model was self-administered to 73 (response rate 58.4%) and 80 (response rate 41.7%) lecturers in the medical faculties of USM and UKM respectively. The prevalence of job strain (defined by low decision latitude and high psychological demand) in USM and UKM was 23.3% and 17.5%, respectively; the difference was not significant (p 2 0.05). Analysis showed that the associated factors of job strain in USM lecturers were psychological stressors (adjusted OR 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.4), created skill (adjusted OR 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.8), working in clinical-based departments (adjusted OR 18.9, 95% CI: 1.6, 22.7). The risk factors of job strain in UKM lecturers were created skill (adjusted OR 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.9), psychological stressors (adjusted OR 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.5) and co-worker support (adjusted OR 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.9). We conclude psychological stressors and created skill were nonprotective and protective, respectively, against job strain in both USM and UKM lecturers.

Mouse trigeminal neurons survive independently of neurotrophins when their axons are growing to their targets, and are then transiently supported by BDNF before becoming NGF dependent. During the stage of neurotrophin independence, transcripts encoding the BDNF receptor, TrkB, were expressed at very low levels. During the stage of BDNF dependence, high levels of a transcript encoding a receptor with the catalytic tyrosine kinase domain were expressed. Although the levels of this transcript fell as the neurons lost responsiveness to BDNF, there were concomitant increases in the expression of transcripts encoding TrkB variants lacking the kinase domain. Analysis of RNA from purified neurons showed that all of these transcripts were present in neurons. BDNF and NGF up-regulated the expression of these transcripts early in development but had little effect later on. To test whether truncated TrkB modulates BDNF signalling via catalytic TrkB, we injected TrkB expression plasmids into NGF-dependent sympathetic neurons. Whereas expression of catalytic TrkB alone conferred a BDNF survival response, co-expression of non-catalytic TrkB substantially reduced this response. Our results suggest that BDNF responsiveness in sensory neurons during development is modulated by the relative levels of catalytic and non-catalytic TrkB.