Morphological variations of falx cerebri and tentorium cerebelli are extremely rare. The authors report an extremely rare type of combined variation of falx cerebri and dural venous sinuses in the tentorium cerebelli. During the removal of the brain from cranial cavity, it was noted that the anterior part of the falx cerebri had fenestrations and it looked like a mesh. There was no associated variations of medial surface of cerebrum. Further, there were unusual sinuses within the tentorium cerebelli. Two of them were present in the right half of the tentorium cerebelli and one in the left half of the tentorium cerebelli. There variations could be of importance to radiologists and neurosurgeons. The fenestrations of falx cerebri might lead to misinterpretations in cases of head injuries and the additional sinuses in the tentorium cerebelli might cause unexpected bleeding during surgeries of posterior cranial fossa.
An interactive teaching tool that utilizes a game board strategy to facilitate the learning of statistics has been developed and employed. This study aims to determine the impact of the board game on the motivation of diploma students towards learning statistics. Data are collected from 7 respondents using a face to face interview. Responses are qualitatively analysed. Results show that respondents are generally positive about the effectiveness of the board game as a teaching tool to enhance le arning and understanding. More importantly, respondents have shown a change in attitude towards statistics and are more motivated to learn statistics under this innovative learning environment. Some suggestions for future research are outlined.
Mental health disorders (MHDs) among refugees has been recognized as a major public health issue. However, to date, there is limited evidence on the prevalence of MHDs among Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and associated factors of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. A total of 220 refugees were randomly selected to participate in this cross-sectional study, conducted from June 2019 to November 2019. Perceived social support, religious orientation, food security, and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed as independent variables. The dependent variables assessed were MDD, GAD, and PTSD. The prevalence of GAD, PTSD, and MDD was reported at 92 (41.8%), 84 (38.2%), and 71 (32.3%). Several factors were significantly associated with MDD following multivariate analysis such as perceived low to moderate social support (AOR = 2.17; 95% CI 1.13, 4.19) and food insecurity (AOR = 2.77; 95% CI 1.19, 6.47). Exposure to violence (AOR = 38.46; 95% CI 16.27, 90.91) and food insecurity (AOR = 3.74; 95% CI 1.41, 9.91) were significantly associated with PTSD. Addressing these risk factors could be key in improving mental health outcomes among this vulnerable population.
To foster a milieu in which student learning can be optimum, teachers need to be aware of the attributes of a safe learning environment. This is the space created in the students' minds to seamlessly promote learning. The 10 maxims, presented in this paper, are the cornerstones, nay, the capstones, for making this happen.
Emotion assessment in stroke patients gives meaningful information to physiotherapists to identify the appropriate method for treatment. This study was aimed to classify the emotions of stroke patients by applying bispectrum features in electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. EEG signals from three groups of subjects, namely stroke patients with left brain damage (LBD), right brain damage (RBD), and normal control (NC), were analyzed for six different emotional states. The estimated bispectrum mapped in the contour plots show the different appearance of nonlinearity in the EEG signals for different emotional states. Bispectrum features were extracted from the alpha (8-13) Hz, beta (13-30) Hz and gamma (30-49) Hz bands, respectively. The k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and probabilistic neural network (PNN) classifiers were used to classify the six emotions in LBD, RBD and NC. The bispectrum features showed statistical significance for all three groups. The beta frequency band was the best performing EEG frequency-sub band for emotion classification. The combination of alpha to gamma bands provides the highest classification accuracy in both KNN and PNN classifiers. Sadness emotion records the highest classification, which was 65.37% in LBD, 71.48% in RBD and 75.56% in NC groups.
Tissue engineering (TE) research serves to overcome the major obstacles in organ transplantation. This paper summarizes the progress of TE in Malaysia. The online database of Elsevier’s SCOPUS was accessed. Publications related to TE from 1960 till 2017 were scrutinized. The results show an increasing trend in tissue engineering research and development in Malaysia. The search result identified and examined 264 original article publications. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study could serve as a point of reference for researchers on the status of TE research and development in Malaysia. The findings of this study could assist TE researchers in Malaysia to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and obstacles towards further enhancement in their activities. Consolidating, realigning and re-strategizing those initiatives should also be seen within the context of nurturing potential and budding researchers in TE.
Telehealth appears useful to fill in the void for home-ventilated patients to maintain the much-needed connectivity with their healthcare team during the #COVID19 pandemic https://bit.ly/3ftvjxW.