Methods: A cross-sectional validation study involving 219 elderlies with cognitive impairment was conducted using universal sampling method. Participants aged 60 years old and above, scored less than 11 for the short mini mental state examination (SMMSE), have sufficient command of the Malay or English language, residing in the government nursing homes and attending memory clinics in government hospitals in Klang Valley were sampled. The GDS-15 English version underwent adaptation, translation, face validation and field testing to produce the Malay version. Psychometric analysis was performed using the exploratory factor analysis and its internal consistency was examined.
Results: Mean age of participants were 72.61 ± 7.79. Majority were male (50.7%), Malay (50.2%), studied at least until primary school (71.7%) and stayed at nursing homes (50.2%). Construct validity showed significant Bartlett's test of sphericity (Chi-square = 1,340.058, P < 0.001) and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test of 0.90. Factor loadings for each item in the depression domain were satisfactory ranging from 0.42 to 0.83. Factor loadings for each item in the psychosocial activities' domain were satisfactory ranging from 0.53 to 0.76. For the questionnaire reliability analysis, the total Cronbach's alpha for the final model was satisfactory, with and overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.89. Cronbach's alpha value for the depression and psychosocial activities domain was 0.861 and 0.80, respectively.
Conclusion: The GDS (Malay version) is a valid and reliable tool to screen for depression in elderly with cognitive impairment.
METHODS: In a series of choice, no-choice, and embryo toxicity bioassays, we examined changes in the ovipositional behaviours and larval eclosion of Ae. albopictus in response to coffee extracts at different concentrations.
RESULTS: Oviposition responses were extremely low when ovicups holding highly concentrated extract (HCE) of coffee were the only oviposition sites. Gravid females retained increased numbers of mature eggs until 5 days post-blood feeding. When provided an opportunity to oviposit in cups containing coffee extracts and with water, egg deposition occurred at lower rates in those containing coffee, and HCE cups were far less attractive to females than those containing water only. Females that successfully developed in a coffee environment preferentially oviposited in such cups when in competition with preferred oviposition sites (water cups), but this trait did not continue into the fourth generation. Larval eclosion occurred at lower rates among eggs that matured in a coffee environment, especially among those that were maintained on HCE-moistened substrates.
CONCLUSIONS: The observations of the present study indicate a pronounced vulnerability of Ae. albopictus to the presence of coffee in its habitats during the early phases of its life cycle. The observations that coffee repels gravid females and inhibits larval eclosion provide novel possibilities in the search for novel oviposition deterrents and anti-larval eclosion agents against dengue vectors.
METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted among staff from a tertiary education centre. Subjects were contacted to ascertain their medical history. A total of 320 subjects were interviewed and 195 subjects were eligible and subsequently recruited on a suitable date for taking blood and administration of the questionnaires. The subjects completed questionnaires pertaining to demographic details and coping styles. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of association between lipid profile and coping styles.
RESULTS: Majority of the subjects were non-academic staff (60.0%), female (67.2%), Malay (91.8%), married (52.3%) and educated until Diploma level (34.9%). Academic staff scored significantly higher mean scores in task-oriented coping styles (Mean = 64.12). Non-academic staff scored significantly higher mean scores in emotion (Mean = 48.05) and avoidance-oriented coping styles (Mean = 57.61). Malay subjects had significantly higher mean scores in emotion (Mean = 47.14) and avoidance-oriented coping styles (Mean = 55.23). Non-malay subjects (Mean = 66.00) attained significantly higher mean scores in task-oriented coping styles. Single/divorced/widowed individuals scored significantly higher mean scores in emotion (Mean = 48.13) and avoidance-oriented coping styles (Mean = 56.86). There was a significant negative correlation between TC (r = -0.162) and LDL (r = -0.168) with avoidance-oriented coping styles (p = 0.023, p = 0.019 respectively).
CONCLUSION: Avoidance-oriented coping style was more likely to engender favourable lipid profile. Hence, assessment of coping styles would certainly assist health care practitioners in predicting subjects who would be at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
METHODS: Chi-square tests were used for initial screening to select only those variables which would show an initial significance. Risk Ratios (RR) were calculated, and a Multiple Backward Stepwise Linear Regression Analysis (MBSLRA) was followed with those variables given significant results at screening and with the presence of distress or depression or the lack of both of them.
RESULTS: The most important risk factors for depression were female (RR = 1.59-5.49) and non-binary gender (RR = 1.56-7.41), unemployment (RR = 1.41-6.57), not working during lockdowns (RR = 1.43-5.79), bad general health (RR = 2.74-9.98), chronic somatic disorder (RR = 1.22-5.57), history of mental disorders (depression RR = 2.31-9.47; suicide attempt RR = 2.33-9.75; psychosis RR = 2.14-10.08; Bipolar disorder RR = 2.75-12.86), smoking status (RR = 1.15-5.31) and substance use (RR = 1.77-8.01). The risk factors for distress or depression that survived MBSLRA were younger age, being widowed, living alone, bad general health, being a carer, chronic somatic disorder, not working during lockdowns, being single, self-reported history of depression, bipolar disorder, self-harm, suicide attempts and of other mental disorders, smoking, alcohol, and substance use.
CONCLUSIONS: Targeted preventive interventions are crucial to safeguard the mental health of vulnerable groups, emphasizing the importance of diverse samples in future research.
LIMITATIONS: Online data collection may have resulted in the underrepresentation of certain population groups.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether the inclusion of video games in the upper limb amputee rehabilitation protocol could have a beneficial impact for muscle preparation, coordination, and patient motivation among individuals who have undergone transradial upper limb amputation.
METHODS: Ten participants, including five amputee participants and five able-bodied participants, were enrolled in 10 1-hour sessions within a 4-week rehabilitation program. In order to investigate the effects of the rehabilitation protocol used in this study, virtual reality box and block tests and electromyography (EMG) assessments were performed. Maximum voluntary contraction was measured before, immediately after, and 2 days after interacting with four different EMG-controlled video games. Participant motivation was assessed with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire and user evaluation survey.
RESULTS: Survey analysis showed that muscle strength and coordination increased at the end of training for all the participants. The results of Pearson correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive association between the training period and the box and block test score (r8=0.95, P
METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was carried out on a 15-year-old male proband of Pakistani ancestry who had severe obesity. This was followed by family segregation analysis, using Sanger sequencing. We also undertook re-analysis of WES data from 91 unrelated adults with severe obesity (86% white European ancestry) from the Personalised Medicine for Morbid Obesity (PMMO) cohort, recruited from the UK National Health Service.
RESULTS: We identified an oligogenic mode of inheritance of obesity in the proband's family-this provided the impetus to reanalyze existing sequence data in a separate dataset. Analysis of PMMO participant data revealed two further patients who carried more than one rare, predicted-deleterious mutation in a known monogenic obesity gene. In all three cases, the genes involved had known autosomal dominant inheritance, with incomplete penetrance.
CONCLUSION: Oligogenic inheritance may explain some of the variable penetrance in Mendelian forms of obesity. We caution clinicians and researchers to avoid confining sequence analysis to individual genes and, in particular, not to stop looking when the first potentially-causative mutation is found.