MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research was performed at the Forensic Unit of Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, spanning a retrospective analysis covering 2012 to 2021. A descriptive analysis was conducted to analyse the patterns of suicide and the sociodemographic characteristics of the cases.
RESULTS: The findings show monthly variations and a recent increase in suicide rates, especially during the pandemic of COVID-19. Analysis of suicide methods indicates that hanging is the most common suicide method, which accounts for almost half of the sample population, followed by jumping from a height and burning charcoal. Adult males are primarily implicated in suicidal acts, and the study reveals unique trends among different age groups, genders and employment statuses.
CONCLUSION: This study aims to offer thorough insights and comprehension into suicide within the Malaysian sociodemographic framework. Consequently, it could furnish valuable insights for public health authorities and governmental bodies.
AIMS AND METHODS: We analyzed Global Adult Tobacco Survey data in Bangladesh, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Ukraine, Turkey, Uruguay, and Viet Nam during 2014-2018. The weighted prevalence of "awareness" (heard about), "ever" (even once), and "current" (daily/nondaily) EC use among never, current, and former cigarette smokers and quit ratios (past smokers/ever smokers) was estimated. Association of EC use with sociodemographic, and CS, was explored by multilevel regression.
RESULTS: Overall, prevalence of "awareness," "ever," and "current" ECs use was 19.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 27.4, 31.1), 2.6% (95% CI 2.4, 2.8), and 0.7% (95% CI 0.6, 0.8), respectively. In most countries, "ever use" <10%, and "current use" was about 1% except Romania (4.4%) and Russia (3.5%). "Current use" was 0.1%, 2.9%, and 3.1% among never, current, and former smokers, respectively. "Current" and "ever" EC use was higher among current and former than never smokers (2.8% and 3.1% vs. 0.1%; 9.9% and 10.9% vs. 0.7%), respectively. Current EC use was associated with male sex, urban residence and younger age, higher education, and wealth. "Quit attempts" (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.2, 1.5) and cigarettes smoked per day (aOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4, 1.9) were associated with "ever use."
CONCLUSIONS: EC use was low in most countries. "Dual use" was common among current smokers and the quit ratio was higher among ECs users.
IMPLICATIONS: EC use is increasing in high-income countries (HICs) where regulations on ECs are usually permissive. Evidence on the individual- or population-level impact of ECs on CS cessation is inconclusive. Little is known about the prevalence of EC use in LMICs where regulations are nonexistent or less restrictive. Studying the distribution of EC use rates by population subgroups, CS status, and quit ratios for CS among EC users will assist the formulation of EC regulatory policies. We provide comparable nationally representative prevalence estimates of "awareness" about and, use of ECs to serve as a benchmark for future monitoring. EC use was associated with the attempt to quit CS and smoking >10 cigarettes per day. However, "dual use" was common, and the quit ratio for CS was higher among EC users. EC use was very low relative to HICs. Nevertheless, comprehensive EC regulatory policies should be implemented to prevent the escalation of EC use by targeting population subgroups such as young adults, educated and wealthier individuals.
METHODS: Thirty patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), age: 29.5 (SD = 5.6) years and 30 healthy gender-, age-, and education-matched control group participants, age: 28.8 (SD = 6.0) years, were recruited for this study. The participants in the healthy group were then randomly assigned into an EI (n = 15) group and a no-EI (n = 15) group. Similarly, the participants in the control group were then randomly assigned into EI (n = 15) and no-EI (n = 15) groups. The participants performed a serial reaction time (SRT) task and reaction times. A retention test was performed after 48 hours.
RESULTS: All participants reduced their reaction times across acquisition (MS group: 46.4 (SD = 3.3) minutes, P < 0.001, and healthy group: 39.4 (SD = 3.3) minutes, P < 0.001). The findings for the within-participants effect of repeated measures of time were significant (F(5.06, 283.7) = 71.33. P < 0.001). These results indicate that the interaction between group and time was significant (F(5.06, 283.7) = 6.44. P < 0.001), which indicated that the reaction time in both groups was significantly changed between the MS and healthy groups across times (B1 to B10). The main effect of the group (MS and healthy) (F(1, 56) = 22.78. P < 0.001) and also the main effect of no-EI vs EI (F(1, 56) = 4.71. P < 0.001) were significant.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that that RRMS patients are capable of learning new skills, but the provision of EI prior to physical practice is deleterious to implicit learning. It is sufficient to educate MS patients on the aim and general content of the training and only to provide feedback at the end of the rehabilitative session.
Methods: Data were collected from 278 male soccer players aged 13-38 years (mean [M] = 17.42 ± 4.36) with the number of competitive soccer experiences ranging from 1-28 years (M = 7.51 ± 4.23 years). Participants had at least a year of experience in the sport of soccer completed the validated passion scale, sports courage scale and demographic form.
Results: Analyses revealed that soccer players with higher levels of total courage (P < 0.001), have more experience in soccer (P = 0.011), and their soccer level being professional (P < 0.001) had a significantly higher score in harmonious passion. There was no significant difference in obsessive passion among different level of total courage (P = 0.154). However, soccer players with more experience (P = 0.011) and higher soccer level being professional (P < 0.001) demonstrated a significant higher score in obsessive passion.
Conclusion: In conclusion, soccer players with higher harmonious and obsessive passionate attributes had higher courage (except for mastery). In addition, the courageous and passionate traits of the soccer players played meaningful roles in indicating individual and performance variables.
Methods: 'Youth' was defined as a person aged between 15 and 24 years, while 'pornography' refers to any material that depicts sexual activity or erotic behaviour. The development phase consisted of a literature review, an expert panel review, face validation and a pre-test. Fifty college students from a randomly selected higher learning institutions were invited to participate in the pilot test, whereas 150 and 198 different students from the same institutions participated in exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively.
Results: EFA suggested a five-factor solution with factor loadings ranging from 0.449 to 0.891 and a Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.904 to 0.966. The CFA of the attitude questions also proved a good fitting model with good fit indices: comparative fit index (CFI) robust = 0.907; Tucker-Lewis fit index (TLI) robust = 0.901; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) robust = 0.073; standardised root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.060. The factor loadings ranged from 0.544 to 0.906, whereas the Raykov's rho ranged from 0.886 - 0.974.
Conclusion: Based on EFA and CFA, the attitude sections of the newly developed Malay version of the PORQUE were found to be psychometrically valid.
STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 371 cases at a Nigerian university hospital between 2000 and 2023. Age, gender, site, histological variants, tumor size and duration were analyzed. Statistical analyses included the Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test, and Spearman rank correlation analysis.
RESULTS: The median patient age was 30 years (mean age 32.2), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.12:1. 54.7% of cases occurred in young adults (age range 20-39 years). Among the lesions, 11.3% were in the maxilla and 88.7% in the mandible. Patients with mandibular lesions had a median age of 29 years, while those with maxillary lesions had a statistically significantly higher median age of 37.5 years p-value = 0.001. Median tumor size was 36 cm2 for the mandible and 24 cm2 for the maxilla (significant p-value of 0.002). There was no correlation between tumor size, age, or gender. However, there was a significant correlation between tumor size and the duration of the condition.
CONCLUSION: The study concludes that ameloblastoma is more frequent among younger individuals in Nigeria and often presents with larger tumor sizes, emphasizing the need for early detection and intervention.
Methods: A total of 126 patients were randomised into two groups. The patients in Group A underwent mesotherapy (n = 66) and those in Group B underwent surgery (n = 60). The patients in Group A group received six sessions of mesotherapy treatment at 2-week intervals. Both groups were followed up for 12 weeks, during which they were assessed for complications arising from treatment, reduction of the size of the lipoma and cosmetic outcomes.
Results: The overall mean age of the patients was 32.93 (± 10.1) years old and the mean volume of the lipomas was 2.29 (± 3.8) mL. A 55.86% (P = 0.0032) mean reduction in the volume of lipomas was noted in the patients who received mesotherapy, while one patient showed a gain of 16% by volume. The patients in Group A (cosmetic score ≥ 4: 63%) were happier with the treatment than those in Group B (cosmetic score ≥ 4: 21%).
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that mesotherapy modestly reduces the volume of lipomas with very few and minor complications and excellent cosmetic outcomes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-eight patients diagnosed with AS were enrolled from the Rheumatology Unit at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Participants were categorized into two groups based on disease status: inactive (n = 44) and active (n = 44). Additionally, 44 matched healthy individuals were included as controls. Comprehensive medical histories were obtained, including disease duration, body mass index, sex, and age. Laboratory parameters related to the disease-such as C-reactive protein, human leukocyte antigen (HLA-B27), and rheumatoid factor-were also measured. Serum IL-41 levels were quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS: The study revealed a significant difference in levels of IL-41 in patients with AS (17.721±0.705 ng/L) compared to controls (8.495±0.984 ng/L; P = 0.009). The mean serum IL-41 concentration was highest in the active group (23.037±5.268 ng/L), followed by the inactive group (12.411±1.672 ng/L; p = 0.001) and controls (8.495±0.984 ng/L). Serum IL-41 levels demonstrated strong validity for diagnosing AS, with a cutoff value of ≥ 9.35 ng/mL and an area under the curve of 0.991. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 97.7%, 79.5%, and 92.38%, respectively (p = 0.002).
CONCLUSIONS: IL-41 is a potential new diagnostic biomarker for AS and associated with patient's disease activity. These insights could potentially transform the way we diagnose and manage AS, offering new avenues for improved patient care and outcomes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quasi-experimental study employing a one-group pre- and post-intervention was carried out involving 142 male firefighter recruits from a Fire and Rescue Academy in Malaysia. Various aspects of physical fitness changes, including speed, agility, and coordination (SAC), muscle strength, endurance, and power, were evaluated at baseline (Week 1) and upon completion of the first phase (Week 5). Changes in health parameters, such as blood pressure, resting heart rate, body weight, muscle mass, body fat percentage, and body mass index, were also assessed. A paired sample t-test was conducted with the significance level set at 0.05. The magnitude of changes was assessed using the following criteria: values of 0.3 were considered a small effect size, 0.5 indicated a moderate effect size, and 0.8 signified a large effect size.
RESULTS: Upon completion of the first phase of the physical training regimen, there was a statistically significant improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness, with a mean increment of VO2max was 9 mL/kg/min (95% CI: 8.33, 9.58, p<0.001, large effect size of 2.40). Both pre-and postintervention assessments of abdominal and upper body muscle strength and endurance showed statistically significant improvement with the mean difference of 11 situps (95%CI: 10.08, 12.01; p<0.001, large effect size of 1.89) and 1.5 pull-ups (95%CI: 1.07, 1.86; p<0.001, moderate effect size of 0.63), respectively. Health parameters showed similar, except for systolic BP (SBP). There was a small increment in recruits' SBP following the 4-week training period with a mean difference of 4.3 mmHg (95%CI: 2.37, 6.24; effect size = 0.37, p<0.001).
CONCLUSION: The first phase of the newly introduced fourweek physical training regimen has proven effective in enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness, as well as abdominal and upper body muscle strength and endurance. Additionally, the regimen has positively influenced several health parameters, except for systolic blood pressure. The observed increase in average systolic blood pressure indicates a necessity for continuous monitoring at the academy to address this issue effectively. confirm our findings.