Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia

by Maryam N. Chaudhary, Voon-Ching Lim, Erwin Martinez Faller, Pramod Regmi, Nirmal Aryal, Siti Nursheena Mohd Zain, Adzzie Shazleen Azman, Norhidayu Sahimin

Background

Globally, 390 million dengue virus infections occur per year. In Malaysia, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to dengue fever (DF) due to mosquito breeding sites exposure and poor health literacy. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) assess the current DF knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP), and (ii) identify strategies to promote DF awareness, among migrant workers in Klang Valley.

Method

A survey was conducted with 403 Nepali, Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers through phone interviews and online self-administered questionnaires. Piecewise structural equation modelling was applied to identify predictor variables for DF KAP.

Results

Most respondents were male, working in the services industry, had completed high school, aged between 30–39 years and with less than ten years work experience in Malaysia. Overall, respondents’ knowledge was positively correlated with attitude but negatively with practices. Older respondents, who had completed higher education, obtained higher knowledge scores. Similarly, those with working experience of >20 years in Malaysia obtained higher attitude scores. Respondents with a previous history of DF strongly considered the removal of mosquito breeding sites as their own responsibility, hence tended to frequently practise DF preventive measures. Respondents’ knowledge was also positively correlated to their understanding of DF information sourced from social media platforms.

Conclusion

These findings highlighted: (i) the need for targeted DF educational intervention among younger and newly arrived workers with lower levels of education and (ii) maximising the usage of social media platforms to improve DF public awareness.

Pharmacogenomics of poor drug metabolism in greyhounds: Canine P450 oxidoreductase genetic variation, breed heterogeneity, and functional characterization

by Stephanie E. Martinez, Amit V. Pandey, Tania E. Perez Jimenez, Zhaohui Zhu, Michael H. Court

Greyhounds metabolize cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2B11 substrates more slowly than other dog breeds. However, CYP2B11 gene variants associated with decreased CYP2B11 expression do not fully explain reduced CYP2B11 activity in this breed. P450 oxidoreductase (POR) is an essential redox partner for all CYPs. POR protein variants can enhance or repress CYP enzyme function in a CYP isoform and substrate dependent manner. The study objectives were to identify POR protein variants in greyhounds and determine their effect on coexpressed CYP2B11 and CYP2D15 enzyme function. Gene sequencing identified two missense variants (Glu315Gln and Asp570Glu) forming four alleles, POR-H1 (reference), POR-H2 (570Glu), POR-H3 (315Gln, 570Glu) and POR-H4 (315Gln). Out of 68 dog breeds surveyed, POR-H2 was widely distributed across multiple breeds, while POR-H3 was largely restricted to greyhounds and Scottish deerhounds (35% allele frequencies), and POR-H4 was rare. Three-dimensional protein structure modelling indicated significant effects of Glu315Gln (but not Asp570Glu) on protein flexibility through loss of a salt bridge between Glu315 and Arg519. Recombinant POR-H1 (reference) and each POR variant (H2-H4) were expressed alone or with CYP2B11 or CYP2D15 in insect cells. No substantial effects on POR protein expression or enzyme activity (cytochrome c reduction) were observed for any POR variant (versus POR-H1) when expressed alone or with CYP2B11 or CYP2D15. Furthermore, there were no effects on CYP2B11 or CYP2D15 protein expression, or on CYP2D15 enzyme kinetics by any POR variant (versus POR-H1). However, V_max values for 7-benzyloxyresorufin, propofol and bupropion oxidation by CYP2B11 were significantly reduced by coexpression with POR-H3 (by 34–37%) and POR-H4 (by 65–72%) compared with POR-H1. K_m values were unaffected. Our results indicate that the Glu315Gln mutation (common to POR-H3 and POR-H4) reduces CYP2B11 enzyme function without affecting at least one other major canine hepatic P450 (CYP2D15). Additional in vivo studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Friendship interventions for children with neurodevelopmental needs: A systematic review and meta-analysis

by Reinie Cordier, Lauren Parsons, Sarah Wilkes-Gillan, Matthew Cook, Matthew McCloskey-Martinez, Pamela Graham, David Littlefair, Cally Kent, Renée Speyer

Rationale

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, developmental language disorder (DLD), intellectual disability (ID), and social (pragmatic) communication disorder (SPCD) experience difficulties with social functioning due to differences in their social, emotional and cognitive skills. Previous systematic reviews have focussed on specific aspects of social functioning rather than broader peer functioning and friendships.

Objective

To systematically review and methodologically appraise the quality and effectiveness of existing intervention studies that measured friendship outcomes for children with ADHD, autism, DLD, ID, and SPCD.

Method

Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched five electronic databases: CINAHL, Embase, Eric, PsycINFO, and PubMed. Two independent researchers screened all abstracts and disagreements were discussed with a third researcher to reach consensus. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomised Trials.

Results

Twelve studies involving 15 interventions were included. Studies included 683 children with a neurodevelopmental disorder and 190 typically-developing children and diagnosed with either autism or ADHD. Within-group meta-analysis showed that the pooled intervention effects for friendship across all interventions were small to moderate (z = 2.761, p = 0.006, g = 0.485). The pooled intervention effect between intervention and comparison groups was not significant (z = 1.206, p = 0.400, g = 0.215).

Conclusion

Findings provide evidence that some individual interventions are effective in improving social functioning and fostering more meaningful friendships between children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their peers. Effective interventions involved educators, targeted child characteristics known to moderate peer functioning, actively involved peers, and incorporated techniques to facilitate positive peer perceptions and strategies to support peers. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of friendship interventions for children with DLD, ID and SPCD, more comprehensively assess peer functioning, include child self-report measures of friendship, and longitudinally evaluate downstream effects on friendship.