Conidiobolomycosis (also known as rhinoentomophthoramycosis) is a rare cutaneous/mucosal fungal infection seen mainly in the tropical rain forest regions of the world that can be associated with disfiguring facial elephantiasis, and rarely, death.
Human facial skin colour reflects individuals' underlying health (Stephen et al 2011 Evolution & Human Behavior 32 216-227); and enhanced facial skin CIELab b* (yellowness), a* (redness), and L* (lightness) are perceived as healthy (also Stephen et al 2009a International Journal of Primatology 30 845-857). Here, we examine Malaysian Chinese participants' detection thresholds for CIELab L* (lightness), a* (redness), and b* (yellowness) colour changes in Asian, African, and Caucasian faces and skin coloured patches. Twelve face photos and three skin coloured patches were transformed to produce four pairs of images of each individual face and colour patch with different amounts of red, yellow, or lightness, from very subtle (deltaE = 1.2) to quite large differences (deltaE = 9.6). Participants were asked to decide which of sequentially displayed, paired same-face images or colour patches were lighter, redder, or yellower. Changes in facial redness, followed by changes in yellowness, were more easily discriminated than changes in luminance. However, visual sensitivity was not greater for redness and yellowness in nonface stimuli, suggesting red facial skin colour special salience. Participants were also significantly better at recognizing colour differences in own-race (Asian) and Caucasian faces than in African faces, suggesting the existence of cross-race effect in discriminating facial colours. Humans' colour vision may have been selected for skin colour signalling (Changizi et al 2006 Biology Letters 2 217-221), enabling individuals to perceive subtle changes in skin colour, reflecting health and emotional status.
Seeing a face being touched in spatial and temporal synchrony with the own face produces a bias in self-recognition, whereby the other face becomes more likely to be perceived as the self. The present study employed event-related potentials to explore whether this enfacement effect reflects initial face encoding, enhanced distinctiveness of the enfaced face, modified self-identity representations, or even later processing stages that are associated with the emotional processing of faces. Participants were stroked in synchrony or asynchrony with an unfamiliar face they observed on a monitor in front of them, in a situation approximating a mirror image. Subsequently, event-related potentials were recorded during the presentation of (a) a previously synchronously stimulated face, (b) an asynchronously stimulated face, (c) observers' own face, (d) filler faces, and (e) a to-be-detected target face, which required a response. Observers reported a consistent enfacement illusion after synchronous stimulation. Importantly, the synchronously stimulated face elicited more prominent N170 and P200 responses than the asynchronously stimulated face. By contrast, similar N250 and P300 responses were observed in these conditions. These results suggest that enfacement modulates early neural correlates of face encoding and facial prototypicality, rather than identity self-representations and associated emotional processes.
This comparative cross-sectional study assessed the facial surface dimensions of a group of Malay children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and compared them with a control group. 30 Malay children with UCLP aged 8-10 years and 30 unaffected age-matched children were voluntarily recruited from the Orthodontic Specialist Clinic in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). For the cleft group, lip and palate were repaired and assessment was performed prior to alveolar bone grafting and orthodontic treatment. The investigation was carried out using 3D digital stereophotogrammetry. 23 variables and two ratios were compared three-dimensionally between both groups. Statistically significant dimensional differences (P<0.05) were found between the UCLP Malay group and the control group mainly in the nasolabial region. These include increased alar base and alar base root width, shorter upper lip length, and increased nose base/mouth width ratio in the UCLP group. There were significant differences between the facial surface morphology of UCLP Malay children and control subjects. Particular surgical procedures performed during primary surgeries may contribute to these differences and negatively affect the surgical outcome.
Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a dominant multisystemic malformation syndrome due to mutations in five genes-NIPBL, SMC1A, HDAC8, SMC3, and RAD21. The characteristic facial dysmorphisms include microcephaly, arched eyebrows, synophrys, short nose with depressed bridge and anteverted nares, long philtrum, thin lips, micrognathia, and hypertrichosis. Most affected individuals have intellectual disability, growth deficiency, and upper limb anomalies. This study looked at individuals from diverse populations with both clinical and molecularly confirmed diagnoses of CdLS by facial analysis technology. Clinical data and images from 246 individuals with CdLS were obtained from 15 countries. This cohort included 49% female patients and ages ranged from infancy to 37 years. Individuals were grouped into ancestry categories of African descent, Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Caucasian. Across these populations, 14 features showed a statistically significant difference. The most common facial features found in all ancestry groups included synophrys, short nose with anteverted nares, and a long philtrum with thin vermillion of the upper lip. Using facial analysis technology we compared 246 individuals with CdLS to 246 gender/age matched controls and found that sensitivity was equal or greater than 95% for all groups. Specificity was equal or greater than 91%. In conclusion, we present consistent clinical findings from global populations with CdLS while demonstrating how facial analysis technology can be a tool to support accurate diagnoses in the clinical setting. This work, along with prior studies in this arena, will assist in earlier detection, recognition, and treatment of CdLS worldwide.
East Asian and white Western observers employ different eye movement strategies for a variety of visual processing tasks, including face processing. Recent eye tracking studies on face recognition found that East Asians tend to integrate information holistically by focusing on the nose while white Westerners perceive faces featurally by moving between the eyes and mouth. The current study examines the eye movement strategy that Malaysian Chinese participants employ when recognizing East Asian, white Western, and African faces. Rather than adopting the Eastern or Western fixation pattern, Malaysian Chinese participants use a mixed strategy by focusing on the eyes and nose more than the mouth. The combination of Eastern and Western strategies proved advantageous in participants' ability to recognize East Asian and white Western faces, suggesting that individuals learn to use fixation patterns that are optimized for recognizing the faces with which they are more familiar.
Frontonasal dysplasia (FND) is an uncommon congenital anomaly affecting the eyes, nose and forehead. In this case report, a baby of a 22-year-old mother was diagnosed with a midline facial cleft, bifid nose and hypertelorism during an ultrasound scan at 29th week of gestation. Besides a history of miscarriage on first pregnancy, no other abnormalities findings were found in laboratory or radiological examination of the newborn. Counselling about abnormality and psychological support were given by both obstetrician and neonatologist during the antenatal period. The patient delivered vaginally at 36th week with spontaneous labour and no complication was observed. Further interventions including corrective treatment have been planned as they often interfere with important functions such as breathing and feeding. Thus, the paediatric surgical team decided to do the operation when the baby reaches one year old as then tissues have been developed to 90% of their eventual form to give optimal treatment results. Further life expectancy depends on the severity of the malformation and whether or not surgical intervention can improve the associated health problems. This case report raises the importance of awareness on the nutritional value of pregnant mothers especially carotene and folic acid intake which may be associated with the organ maldevelopment. Overall, this report outlined the management of this rare condition experienced by the patient, particularly in a resource-limited setting like Yangon in Myanmar and also reviewed the literature about the presentation and classification of this condition.
Objectives: We encountered an unusual facial laceration wound in relation to motorcycle helmet visor use during our clinical practice. We aimed to assess the prevalence of this unusual facial injury among motorcyclists who sustained facial injuries in selected hospitals and to determine the possible mechanism involved. Methods: We used our prospective cross-sectional substudy involving injured motorcyclists presenting at major trauma hospitals in Southern Klang Valley, Malaysia, between March 2010 and March 2011. of 391 subjects with facial injuries, 2 male motorcyclists sustained this laceration. The wounds were assessed and we believed that each was associated with the helmet visor. One of the visors was collected and the edge was inspected using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results: The prevalence of this unusual injury was 0.51% (95% confidence interval, 0.002-0.012) among motorcyclists who sustained facial injuries. Both cases were involved in a head-on collision with their colliding partners and their helmets were intact throughout the crash. The visor in case 1 was intact, but the visor in case 2 was broken. SEM analysis showed that the visor in case 1 had a potential cutting surface. We postulated that with helmet rotation in the forward and downward position and with some degree of visor bending or with a dislodged visor, the sharp-edged visor could potentially severely lacerate the face. Conclusion: This injury affects facial aesthetics and early referral to the facial surgery team is advocated. Documentation of the mechanism of injury, the patient's helmet and visor is obligatory, so that this information can be delivered to the regional road safety authority for preventive measures.
Most prior studies of the other-race categorization advantage have been conducted in predominantly monoracial societies. This limitation has left open the question of whether tendencies to more rapidly and accurately categorize other-race faces reflect social categorization (own-race vs. other-race) or perceptual expertise (frequent exposure vs. infrequent exposure). To address this question, we tested Malay and Malaysian Chinese children (9- and 10-year-olds) and adults on (a) own-race faces (i.e., Malay faces for Malay participants and Chinese faces for Malaysian Chinese participants), (b) high-frequency other-race faces (i.e., Chinese faces for Malay participants and Malay faces for Malaysian Chinese participants), and (c) low-frequency other-race faces (i.e., Caucasian faces). Whereas the other-race categorization advantage was in evidence in the accuracy data of Malay adults, other aspects of performance were supportive of either the social categorization or perceptual expertise accounts and were dependent on the race (Malay vs. Chinese) or age (child vs. adult) of the participants. Of particular significance is the finding that Malaysian Chinese children and adults categorized own-race Chinese faces more rapidly than high-frequency other-race Malay faces. Thus, in accord with a perceptual expertise account, the other-race categorization advantage seems to be more an advantage for racial categories of lesser experience regardless of whether these face categories are own-race or other-race.
AIM: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of facial acne and its impact on the quality of life among adolescents attending secondary schools in Muar, Malaysia.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted where 409 samples were selected using stratified cluster random sampling from two secondary schools in Muar, involving Form 1 to Form 5 students. Students were diagnosed clinically and the severity of facial acne was assessed using Global Acne Grading System. A self-reported Cardiff Acne Disability Index was used to assess the quality of life among adolescents who had acne.
RESULTS: The prevalence of facial acne among the adolescents was 67.5% (n = 276). Facial acne increased with increasing age (p = 0.001). It was more common among males (71.1%) than females (64.6%), p = 0.165. The males also had a higher prevalence of severe acne (p = 0.001). The quality of life was affected by the severity of acne. Students with severe acne had higher levels of Cardiff Acne Disability Index (rho = 0.521).
CONCLUSION: Facial acne is a common disorder and appears to have a considerable impact on quality of life among adolescents. The above findings should alert health care professionals and the school authorities to actively identify, manage and educate adolescents with facial acne.
Incidences of cerebral palsy (CP) in children are not quite common even though it is the most common motor disorder in children. Further quality of life in CP cases is not so good in young adult stages and has to face certain problems. However scalp haematoma formation in CP patient without injury to head is rarely been reported. The case is being reported for the first time from Malaysia. We report on a unique case of scalp haematoma in an 18-year-old girl of known CP patient with unknown cause. No history of trauma or fall with any of the focal neurological signs or symptoms was found. Clinical examination showed soft boggy swelling of 8 x 10 cm size, involving most of scalp and upper face. CT - scan showed scalp haematoma with right orbital extraconal lesion. She underwent incision and drainage of scalp lesion; consequently around 100 ml of clotted blood came out. At follow-up she was doing well.
Introduction: Half of facial paralysis in children is idiopathic at origin. However, dismissing facial
paralysis as being idiopathic without a thorough history and meticulous examination could be
disastrous as illustrated by this case.
Case report: We report a case of sphenoid wing meningioma in a 4-year-old girl. She first
presented with only facial asymmetry that was noticed by her mother. Examination suggested a
left upper motor neuron facial nerve palsy. A sphenoid wing meningioma was found on magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) of her brain. She underwent craniotomy and total tumour excision.
Histopathological examination of the tumour showed a grade 1 transitional type meningioma.
Meningiomas in children are rare compared to the adult population. Presentations in children
may be delayed due to their inability to recognise or communicate abnormalities. Distinguishing
between upper and lower motor neuron facial palsy is crucial in decision making for facial paralysis
in children.
The purpose of this paper is to calculate the specific absorption rate (SAR) reduction in a muscle cube with metamaterial attachment. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method has been used to evaluate the SAR in a realistic anatomically based model of the muscle cube. In this paper, we have designed the single-negative metamaterials from a periodic arrangement of split ring resonators (SRRs). By properly designing the structural parameter of the SRRs, the effective medium parameter can be tuned negative at the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. Numerical results concerning the SAR values in the muscle cube in the presence of resonators exhibit significant SAR reduction. These results can provide useful information when designing safety-compliant mobile communication equipment.
The aims of this study were to assess the quantitative values of measurements using proportion indices in the craniofacial region in patients with repaired, non-syndromic, complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), and compare them with a control group who did not have clefts using the non-invasive systems of 3-dimensional technology. Three-dimensional measurements of the facial surfaces of 15 Malay patients who had UCLP repaired and 100 Malay control patients aged 18-25 years were analysed. The 3-dimensional images of the respondents' faces were captured using the VECTRA-3D Stereophotogrammetry System. Eleven craniofacial proportions were assessed using a combination of 18 linear measurements obtained from 21 anthropometric soft tissue landmarks. These measurements were used to produce proportion indices to find the differences in the morphological features between the groups, and assessed using the independent sample t test and z scores. There were significant differences between the groups in 7 out of 11 craniofacial proportion indices (p=0.001-0.044). Z scores of 2 indices were disproportionate. They were nasal index (which was severely supernormal) and upper lip index (which was moderately supernormal). Patients with UCLP had higher mean z scores, indicating that patients with UCLP tended to have larger faces than the control group. There were clinically important differences mainly in the nasolabial area, where the nose and the upper lip were wider, larger, or flatter in patients with UCLP.
To assess the applicability of Pont's Index in a Malaysian population by obtaining baseline measurements of dental arch shape based on premolar arch width, molar arch width and the combined width of the maxillary incisors. A secondary aim was to determine whether a correlation exists between arch widths, Pont's Index and the facial framework.
Fast and non-invasive systems of the three-dimensional (3D) technology are a recent trend in orthodontics. The reproducibility of facial landmarks is important so that 3D facial measurements are accurate and may-be applied clinically. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reproducibility of facial soft tissue landmarks using a non-invasive stereo-photogrammetry 3D camera.
Thalassaemia is a public health problem in Malaysia. It is known to cause skeletal deformity. The purpose of this study was to compare the skeletal, dentoalveolar, and soft tissue features of Malay transfusion-dependent thalassaemia (TDT) patients with a Malay control group. Lateral cephalometric radiographs of 30 Malay (14 males and 16 females aged 6.4-21.8 years) TDT patients and 60 normal Malays matched for chronological age and gender were analysed and compared using an independent t-test. The TDT group showed a similar sagittal relationship to the control group but with a significantly increased (P < 0.01) mandibular plane inclination. They also showed a significantly shorter (P ≤ 0.001) mandibular body, ramus length, and posterior face height and consequently a smaller ratio of posterior to anterior face height (P < 0.01). The upper and lower lips were significantly procumbent (P < 0.001) in the TDT group together with a significantly smaller nasolabial angle (P < 0.05). Dentoalveolar measurements showed less proclined maxillary teeth in the TDT group compared with the controls (P < 0.05). The cephalometric features of Malay TDT patients were characterized by a mild Class II skeletal pattern, prominent vertical growth direction of the mandible, and protruded upper and lower lips.