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Do lifestyle practices impede male fertility?

Leisegang K, Dutta S

Andrologia, 2021 Feb;53(1):e13595.
PMID: 32330362 DOI: 10.1111/and.13595

Alongside an increasing prevalence of couple and male infertility, evidence suggests there is a global declining trend in male fertility parameters over the past few decades. This may, at least in part, be explained through detrimental lifestyle practices and exposures. These include alcohol and tobacco consumption, use of recreational drugs (e.g., cannabis, opioids and anabolic steroids), poor nutritional habits, obesity and metabolic syndrome, genital heat stress (e.g., radiation exposure through cell phones and laptops, prolonged periods of sitting, tight-fitting underwear and recurrent hot baths or saunas), exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (e.g., pesticide residue, bisphenol A, phthalates and dioxins) and psychological stress. This review discusses these lifestyle practices and the current evidence associated with male infertility. Furthermore, known mechanisms of action are also discussed for each of these. Common mechanisms associated with a reduction in spermatogenesis and/or steroidogenesis due to unfavourable lifestyle practices include inflammation and oxidative stress locally or systemically. It is recommended that relevant lifestyle practices are investigated in clinical history of male infertility cases, particularly in unexplained or idiopathic male infertility. Appropriate modification of detrimental lifestyle practices is further suggested and recommended in the management of male infertility.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext MOG Antibody-Associated Disease with Recurrent Optic Neuritis and Multiple Cranial Neuropathies: A Rare Clinical Phenotype

Razali AM, Zain AM, Din NM, Tan HJ, Ng CF

Neurol India, 2020 3 20;68(2):500-501.
PMID: 32189702 DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.280641
Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Detection of abnormality in wireless capsule endoscopy images using fractal features

Jain S, Seal A, Ojha A, Krejcar O, Bureš J, Tachecí I, et al.

Comput Biol Med, 2020 12;127:104094.
PMID: 33152668 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.104094

One of the most recent non-invasive technologies to examine the gastrointestinal tract is wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE). As there are thousands of endoscopic images in an 8-15 h long video, an evaluator has to pay constant attention for a relatively long time (60-120 min). Therefore the possibility of the presence of pathological findings in a few images (displayed for evaluation for a few seconds only) brings a significant risk of missing the pathology with all negative consequences for the patient. Hence, manually reviewing a video to identify abnormal images is not only a tedious and time consuming task that overwhelms human attention but also is error prone. In this paper, a method is proposed for the automatic detection of abnormal WCE images. The differential box counting method is used for the extraction of fractal dimension (FD) of WCE images and the random forest based ensemble classifier is used for the identification of abnormal frames. The FD is a well-known technique for extraction of features related to texture, smoothness, and roughness. In this paper, FDs are extracted from pixel-blocks of WCE images and are fed to the classifier for identification of images with abnormalities. To determine a suitable pixel block size for FD feature extraction, various sizes of blocks are considered and are fed into six frequently used classifiers separately, and the block size of 7×7 giving the best performance is empirically determined. Further, the selection of the random forest ensemble classifier is also done using the same empirical study. Performance of the proposed method is evaluated on two datasets containing WCE frames. Results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms some of the state-of-the-art methods with AUC of 85% and 99% on Dataset-I and Dataset-II respectively.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Chronic disease profiles of subjective memory complaints: a latent class analysis of older people in a rural Malaysian community

Yap KH, Warren N, Allotey P, Reidpath DD

Aging Ment Health, 2020 05;24(5):709-716.
PMID: 30588848 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1550632

Background: Subjective memory complaints (SMC) are common in the elderly and have been suggested as the first subtle sign of decline which can predict dementia. Cognitive decline is thought to be related to inflammatory processes similarly found in other chronic diseases and conditions such as stroke, heart disease and arthritis. This study aimed to examine the association of SMC with chronic diseases and the profile of these health conditions reported by a group of older adults.Methods: Data from a cross-sectional survey conducted from August 2013 and March 2014 was drawn from 6179 individuals aged 56 years and above. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to examine SMC's relationship with individual chronic diseases (asthma, kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, hypertension and diabetes) and multimorbidity. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify the profile of health conditions. The effect of SMC was estimated in a multinomial logistic regression as part of the latent class model.Results: SMC was statistically significant in its association with asthma, stroke, heart disease, arthritis and multimorbidity in the fully controlled multivariable logistic regression models. Three health profiles were identified: low comorbidity (n = 4136, low rates in all health conditions), arthritis group (n = 860) and diabetes and hypertension group (n = 1183). SMC was associated with arthritis group (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.51-2.75) and diabetes and hypertension group (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.03-1.46).Conclusion: Adapting a combination of analytical approaches allows a better understanding in the assessment of SMC's relationship with chronic diseases and the patterns of distribution of these health conditions.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext Dataset on the acceptance of islamic microfinance in Kano State, Nigeria

Yakubu SM, Naim AM, Yusuff N

Data Brief, 2021 Jun;36:107108.
PMID: 34041316 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107108

The present data from 194 customers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is about their acceptance of Islamic microfinance in Kano State, Nigeria. The dataset includes variables such as gender, age, marital status, duration as customer, account operate, annual income, type of business, service quality, perceived value, corporate image and religiosity of customers in Kano State. A survey from March to June 2019, self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. This data may help scholars to understand how people of Kano State accept Islamic microfinance interacted with service quality, customer perceived value, corporate image and religiosity.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext Training Methods For Developing Project Team Members

Majid G. Al-Nabae, Dania Sammani

International Journal of Innovation and Industrial Revolution, 2019;1(1):1-12.
MyJurnal

There are many factors determining the success or failure of the projects. Skills and competencies play a critical role in project management and shortage of skilled project managers and workers has become worldwide issue and a crucial risk that hindering the projects in achieving their objectives and increase the opportunities of project successful. There are two types of training methods used to provide soft and hard skills for project managers and team members. The aim of this paper is to specify the training methods that have roles in project teamwork training to enhance project performance. This paper uses a literature survey of the content of the research papers in project management training and training methods, to identify what extent training methods are related to project performance. This paper emphases the significance of the training process to enhance the project performance and reveals that on-the-job training, lectures and case study methods are most commonly used in project management training. This paper contributes to increasing awareness of the importance of training methods in project management as a feasible strategy to improve the performance of the projects and amply highlights the importance of skills in project management.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext A case study: wrong patient; wrong blood transfusion:is there a theory – practice – ethics gap?

Manfred Mortell

The Malaysian Journal of Nursing, 2019;10(3):22-28.
MyJurnal

This case study illustrates an ongoing therapeutic dilemma which continues to place the patient's welfare at risk. The safety predicament is associated with the transfusion of blood or their products to the correct patient. Predictably, healthcare scholars declare that when clinical practice is ineffective, a “theory-practice gap” is typically responsible. Within this paradigm there is often a gap between theoretical knowledge and its application in clinical practice. Most of the evidence relating to the non-integration of theory and practice makes the premise that environmental factors will influence learning and practice outcomes, hence the "gap". However, it is the author's belief, that to "bridge the gap" between theory and practice an additional component called “Ethics” must be appreciated. This introduces a new concept “theory-practice-ethics gap” which must be considered when reviewing some of the unacceptable appalling outcomes in health care practice

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext Development of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

Puwaneswarry M., Nathratul Ayeshah, Z., Gaaitheri K., Lim, K.Q., Tang, S.L., Ng, C.G., et al.

Medicine & Health, 2020;15(2):262-275.
MyJurnal

Dalam situasi wabak COVID-19 ketika ini, maklumat yang tidak disahkan telah membanjiri platform media sosial, lalu meningkatkan tahap kegelisahan dan gejala kemurungan di kalangan orang ramai. Penyelidikan ini bertujuan untuk menilai hubungan antara pengetahuan, sikap, dan amalan (KAP) yang berkaitan dengan COVID-19 dan kesan psikologinya, seperti kegelisahan dan gejala kemurungan pada rakyat Malaysia. Tinjauan dalam talian telah dilaksanakan dari 8-22 April 2020, yang melibatkan 227 responden. Set soal selidik tersebut merangkumi ciri-ciri sosiodemografi, soal selidik KAP - 11 soalan mengenai pengetahuan (K1-K11), 3 soalan mengenai sikap (A1-A3), 4 soalan mengenai amalan (P1-P4), bersama dengan Soal Selidik ‘Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)’ dan ‘Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Scale’. Untuk mentafsir hasil penyelidikan, analisis deskriptif, ujian chi-square dan analisis teori respons barang telah dilaksanakan. Peratusan responden yang menjawab soalan penyataan benar dari komponen Pengetahuan (K1-K3) dengan betul adalah hampir 100%. Walau bagaimanapun, item yang menguji maklumat palsu COVID-19 (K4-K11) berkisar dari 38.8% hingga 95.2%. Satu-satunya item dari komponen Sikap yang kurang dari 95% dijawab dengan betul adalah A1 (78.9%), mengenai penggunaan topeng muka. Dari komponen Latihan, lebih daripada 80% responden mengenal pasti bahawa mereka menggunakan media sosial untuk mendapatkan kemas kini mengenai COVID-19 sepanjang masa. Ini merupakan sesuatu yang membimbangkan kerana kebanyakan maklumat yang beredar di media sosial belum disahkan oleh pihak berwajib, yang mungkin menyebabkan, dan terus-menerus memperkuat maklumat palsu yang menimbulkan kegelisahan. Kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa skor KAP keseluruhan yang lebih rendah, terutamanya untuk item komponen Pengetahuan, berkaitan langsung dengan tahap kegelisahan dan kemurungan yang lebih tinggi.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Effect of psychosocial safety climate on psychological distress via job resources, work engagement and workaholism: a multilevel longitudinal study

Yulita Y, Idris MA, Dollard MF

Int J Occup Saf Ergon, 2020 Oct 15.
PMID: 32912109 DOI: 10.1080/10803548.2020.1822054

Objective. Our innovation was to propose a multilevel model to explain how an organizational factor, psychosocial safety climate (PSC) - the climate for worker psychological health - related to work investment (work engagement and workaholism) and, in turn, psychological distress. Methods. Longitudinal data were collected in Peninsular Malaysia across 26 police departments from 392 police personnel, matched across 4 months, and were tested using hierarchical linear modeling. Results. The analysis revealed between-group effects linking PSC to job resources, to work engagement and to workaholism. When PSC operated by improving job resources, aside from increased work engagement, it could unwittingly boost workaholism. However, this only existed under low PSC conditions. The secondary function of PSC buffered the impact of job resources on workaholism and psychological distress. When PSC was high, job resources reduced both workaholism and psychological distress, suggesting that PSC enabled resources to do their job of mitigating unfavorable conditions. Conclusions. Results support a multilevel PSC-extended job demands-resources motivational path with cross-links, and PSC's moderation function, as an explanation of worker psychological health. Confirming PSC as a leading indicator and the importance of a motivational path, this article presents new evidence in support of targeting PSC to improve worker psychological health.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
A Lean Approach to Evaluating Prescribing Errors in Medication Reconciliation

Putra Y, Yusof MM

Stud Health Technol Inform, 2021 May 27;281:814-815.
PMID: 34042691 DOI: 10.3233/SHTI210288

We evaluated medication reconciliation processes of a qualitative case study at a 1000-bed public hospital. Lean tools were applied to identify factors contributing to prescribing errors and propose process improvement. Errors were attributed to the prescriber's skills, high workload, staff shortage, poor user attitude and rigid system function. Continuous evaluation of medication reconciliation efficiency is imperative to identify and mitigate errors and increase patient safety.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Use of vaginal mesh; an Asian perspective footnote from the pan-Asia meeting

Lo TS, Tan YL

Int Urogynecol J, 2020 04;31(4):675-677.
PMID: 31932916 DOI: 10.1007/s00192-019-04219-x
Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Does HIV infection affect the survival of dental implants? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Sivakumar I, Arunachalam S, Choudhary S, Buzayan MM

J Prosthet Dent, 2021 Jun;125(6):862-869.
PMID: 32694022 DOI: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2020.04.001

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Immunosuppression and coinfections associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection pose a relative contraindication for dental implant therapy. However, although implants have been placed in patients with HIV with reasonable success, how HIV infection affects their survival is unclear.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis was to analyze the data on the survival of dental implants in patients with HIV.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: A search for relevant articles published up to November 2019 was performed in PubMed/Medline and Cochrane databases, Clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were adopted for the conduct of the systematic review. The most pertinent data were extracted and pooled for qualitative and quantitative analyses with 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity was analyzed by using I-squared statistics.
RESULTS: A total of 8 studies involving 411 individuals with HIV and 1109 implants were included in the meta-analysis. The mean follow-up period was 2.8 years. A pooled estimate of 95% of implant survival rate with 95% confidence interval(92% to 96%) was noted. Heterogeneity across the 8 studies was found to be 41% with moderate true variability.
CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review demonstrated that HIV infection does not pose a serious threat to implant survival on short-term evaluation, but the evidence is of low quality.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext Mechanical deformation of superelastic niti wire at different deflections in an orthodontic bracket system

Muhammad Fauzinizam Razali, Abdus Samad Mahmud

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(108):13-17.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Most patients with malocclusion are given orthodontic leveling therapy with the aim of reducing the vertical discrepancy between teeth. This computational study aims to evaluate the degree of deformation of su- perelastic NiTi arch wire upon bending at different deflections in a bracket system. Methods: A three-dimensional finite-element model of a wire-bracket system was developed to simulate the bending behavior of superelastic NiTi arch wire in three-brackets configuration. A superelastic subroutine was integrated in the model to anticipate the superelastic behavior of the arch wire. The mid span of the arch wire was loaded to different extent of deflections, ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 mm. The mechanical deformation of the arch wires was accessed from three parameters, in specific the unloading force, the bending stress and the martensite fraction. Results: The superelastic wire deflected at 4.0 mm yielded smaller unloading force than the wire bent at 1.0 mm. The bending stress was highly localized at the wire curvature, with the stress magnitude increased from 465 MPa at 1.0 mm to 951 MPa at 4.0 mm deflection. The martensite volume consistently increased throughout the bending, with a fully transformed martensite was ob- served as early as 2.0 mm of deflection. The magnitude of bending stress and the volume of fully transformed mar- tensite increased gradually in relation to the wire deflection. Conclusion: The wire-bracket system induced localize wire deformation, hindering complete utilization of superelasticity during orthodontic treatment.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
The relationship between painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy and functional status of older people in Kuantan, Pahang

Makhtar A, Syed Elias SM, Azizi A

Enferm Clin, 2021 04;31 Suppl 2:S130-S134.
PMID: 33849146 DOI: 10.1016/j.enfcli.2020.12.007

This study aimed to determine the relationship between painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy and functional status among older people in Kuantan, Pahang. A cross-sectional study was performed by using an interviewer-administered questionnaire among 300 participants recruited from selective Primary Health Centres and endocrine clinics, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan in Kuantan, Pahang. The data were analyzed by using SPSS version 22. The findings indicated that most participants reported neuropathic pain experience. The severity of pain was found to be significantly related to patients who had been diagnosed over 10 years ago, Indians patients and those who were treating their diabetes with insulin alone. No significant relationship was found between pain severity and functional status. The severity of pain and the associated factors suggest the need for a multidisciplinary approach to provide effective treatment to patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
A literature review on intervention programs for diabetic foot care

Firdaus MKZH, Jittanoon P

Enferm Clin, 2021 04;31 Suppl 2:S243-S246.
PMID: 33849173 DOI: 10.1016/j.enfcli.2020.09.009

This literature review conducted to explore the best available intervention for diabetic foot care. Online databases (ProQuest, CINAHL, Science Direct and Google Scholar) were searched to retrieve relevant articles. The keywords diabetic foot care, diabetic foot care program, diabetic foot care intervention, diabetic foot education were used for data retrieval and PICO analysis. After screening analysis was completed, only 15 (from 7423) articles, published within 2007-2017, were included in a qualitative synthesis of the data. The articles were categorized as: systematic review (n=1), randomized control trial (n=3), quasi-experimental (n=3), pre-test-post-test (n=4), cohort (n=2), cross-sectional (n=1) and surveys (n=1). Themes synthesized from the analysis were: effective approach (group or individual), project leader, specialized skills required and adaptation of technology. A combination of identified approaches would help design a technology-friendly program for managing diabetic foot care.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Microplastic contamination in the Skipjack Tuna (Euthynnus affinis) collected from Southern Coast of Java, Indonesia

Andreas, Hadibarata T, Sathishkumar P, Prasetia H, Hikmat, Pusfitasari ED, et al.

Chemosphere, 2021 Aug;276:130185.
PMID: 33743420 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130185

Indonesia is the second-largest contributor of microplastics (MPs) pollution in the marine ecosystem. Most MPs pollution-related studies in Indonesia focus on seawater, sediment, with less information found on the commercially important fish species used for human consumption. Skipjack Tuna (Euthynnus affinis) is one of the major exporting fishery commodities from Indonesia. This exploratory study aimed to determine MPs presence in the digestive tract of Skipjack Tuna from the Southern Coast of Java, Indonesia. The fish samples were collected from five different fish traditional auction market along the Southern Coast of Java, Indonesia, namely Pangandaran, Pamayang Sari, Ciletuh, Santolo, and Palabuhan Ratu. The gastrointestinal tract of Skipjack tuna was pretreated using alkaline destruction and filtered. The presence of MPs in the treated samples was visually identified using an optical microscope, while Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) contaminants were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 19 suspected MPs particles were found in the form of filament (84%), angular (11%), and round (5%). This result would provide a better indication of the MPs contamination in marine life species in the Southern Coast of Java, Indonesia, as useful information for marine environmental monitoring program in the future.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext Comparison of anterior and posterior trabecular bone microstructure of human mandible using cone-beam CT and micro CT

Ibrahim N, Parsa A, Hassan B, van der Stelt P, Rahmat RA, Ismail SM, et al.

BMC Oral Health, 2021 05 08;21(1):249.
PMID: 33964918 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-021-01595-z

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the trabecular bone microstructures of anterior and posterior edentulous regions of human mandible using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and micro computed tomography (µCT).
METHODS: Twenty volumes of interests consisting of six anterior and fourteen posterior edentulous regions were obtained from human mandibular cadavers. A CBCT system with a resolution of 80 µm (3D Accuitomo 170, J. Morita, Kyoto, Japan) and a µCT system with a resolution of 35 µm (SkyScan 1173, Kontich, Belgium) were used to scan the mandibles. Three structural parameters namely, trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) were analysed using CTAn software (v 1.11, SkyScan, Kontich, Belgium). For each system, the measurements obtained from anterior and posterior regions were tested using independent sample t-test. Subsequently, all measurements between systems were tested using paired t-test.
RESULTS: In CBCT, all parameters of the anterior and posterior mandible showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). However, µCT showed a significant different of Tb.Th (p = 0.023) between anterior and posterior region. Regardless of regions, the measurements obtained using both imaging systems were significantly different (p ≤ 0.021) for Tb.Th and Tb.N.
CONCLUSIONS: The current study demonstrated that only the variation of Tb.Th between anterior and posterior edentulous region of mandible can be detected using µCT. In addition, CBCT is less feasible than µCT in assessing trabecular bone microstructures at both regions.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext Parkinson disease of ranking lawyer and legislator SJV Chelvanayakam: a hypothesis

Chelvanayakam SJ

Ceylon Med J, 2003 Dec;48(4):133-5.
PMID: 15125406 DOI: 10.4038/cmj.v48i4.3331

SJV Chelvanayakam (1898-1977), a ranking civil lawyer and legislator, was probably the well known Parkinson disease victim in the 20th century Sri Lanka. He was born in Ipoh, Malaya, where his father had moved in the last decade of the 19th century for professional advancement. Ipoh was then an attractive location for migrants from China and the Indian subcontinent since it was in the Kinta valley--touted then, as the world's richest single tin field. Chelvanayakam was brought to Jaffna peninsula when he was aged four (in 1902 or 1903) by his mother, who returned to her native Tellipalai town partly due to indifferent health during her stay in Kinta region. In this communication, I present a hypothesis that organotin exposure as a foetus or during infancy at his place of birth is likely to have been a contributing factor to Chelvanayakam's Parkinsonism. It seems to fit the available circumstantial evidence.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans
β-Thalassemias

Thong MK, Ngim CF

N Engl J Med, 2021 Jun 03;384(22):2165.
PMID: 34077655 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2105064
Matched MeSH terms: Humans
Fulltext BeSafe B2.0 Smart Multisensory Platform for Safety in Workplaces

Márquez-Sánchez S, Campero-Jurado I, Robles-Camarillo D, Rodríguez S, Corchado-Rodríguez JM

Sensors (Basel), 2021 May 12;21(10).
PMID: 34066186 DOI: 10.3390/s21103372

Wearable technologies are becoming a profitable means of monitoring a person's health state, such as heart rate and physical activity. The use of the smartwatch is becoming consolidated, not only as a novelty but also as a very useful tool for daily use. In addition, other devices, such as helmets or belts, are beneficial for monitoring workers and the early detection of any anomaly. They can provide valuable information, especially in work environments, where they help reduce the rate of accidents and occupational diseases, which makes them powerful Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The constant monitoring of the worker's health can be done in real-time, through temperature, falls, noise, impacts, or heart rate meters, activating an audible and vibrating alarm when an anomaly is detected. The gathered information is transmitted to a server in charge of collecting and processing it. In the first place, this paper provides an exhaustive review of the state of the art on works related to electronics for human activity behavior. After that, a smart multisensory bracelet, combined with other devices, developed a control platform that can improve operators' security in the working environment. Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (AIoT) bring together the information to improve safety on construction sites, power stations, power lines, etc. Real-time and historic data is used to monitor operators' health and a hybrid system between Gaussian Mixture Model and Human Activity Classification. That is, our contribution is also founded on the use of two machine learning models, one based on unsupervised learning and the other one supervised. Where the GMM gave us a performance of 80%, 85%, 70%, and 80% for the 4 classes classified in real time, the LSTM obtained a result under the confusion matrix of 0.769, 0.892, and 0.921 for the carrying-displacing, falls, and walking-standing activities, respectively. This information was sent in real time through the platform that has been used to analyze and process the data in an alarm system.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

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