MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive, retrospective study of odontogenic tumours diagnosed from January 2007 to December 2014 at this centre. The odontogenic tumours were classified using the 2005 World Health Organization classification system.
RESULTS: Among 2,733 biopsy specimens, 173 cases were diagnosed as odontogenic tumours (6.3%), of which 171 (98.8%) are benign and 2 (1.2%) are malignant. The most frequently encountered tumour was ameloblastoma (n=96, 55.5%), followed by keratocystic odontogenic tumour (KCOT) (n=38, 22.0%) and odontomas (n=16, 9.2%). Malignant tumours accounted for 1.2% of the tumours. Most ameloblastomas and KCOTs affected the mandible preferentially. The mean age was 33.5 (± 17.8) years and 64.7% of patients were in the age group of 10 to 39. Odontogenic tumours were slightly more common in males, with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study are similar to the other studies in Asia in which the most common tumour encountered is the ameloblastoma, followed by KCOT. The most common signs and symptoms are pain and swelling, while paraesthesia and root resorption are less frequently reported. Such clinical and radiographic features should alert the clinician of a possible odontogenic tumour and though rare, malignant tumours should also be included in the differential diagnoses.
METHODS: The study samples comprised 140 subjects aged 18 to 50 years old, natural and unnatural causes of sudden death brought to the Department of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Sungai Buloh (HSgB) and Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Bahru (HSAJB) for a period of 12 months. The subjects were categorised into 5 groups: cardiovascular disease (CVD), sudden unexplained death (SUD), thoracic trauma (TT), non-thoracic trauma (NTT) and other diseases (OD).
RESULTS: Median troponin concentration in cases of CVD, SUD, TT, NTT, and OD were 0.51 μg/L, 0.17 μg/L, 0.62 μg/L, 0.90 μg/L and 0.51 μg/L respectively. We found no significant difference of troponin T level in different causes of death (p ≥ 0.05). NTT has the highest median troponin concentration with 0.90 μg/L, SUD possessed the lowest median concentration with 0.17 μg/L.
CONCLUSION: Troponin T is neither specific nor useful as cardiac biomarker for post mortem sample. Therefore, it may not be a useful diagnostic tool at autopsy.
APPROACH: Several master templates are initially generated by applying principal component analysis to data obtained from the PhysioNet MIMIC II database. The master template is then updated with each incoming clean PPG pulse. The correlation coefficient is used to classify the PPG pulse into either good or bad quality categories. The performance of our algorithm was evaluated using data obtained from two different sources: (i) our own data collected from 19 healthy subjects using the wearable Sotera Visi Mobile system (Sotera Wireless Inc.) as they performed various movement types; and (ii) ICU data provided by the PhysioNet MIMIC II database. The developed algorithm was evaluated against a manually annotated 'gold standard' (GS).
MAIN RESULTS: Our algorithm achieved an overall accuracy of 91.5% ± 2.9%, with a sensitivity of 94.1% ± 2.7% and a specificity of 89.7% ± 5.1%, when tested on our own data. When applying the algorithm to data from the PhysioNet MIMIC II database, it achieved an accuracy of 98.0%, with a sensitivity and specificity of 99.0% and 96.1%, respectively.
SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed method is simple and robust against individual variations in the PPG characteristics, thus making it suitable for a diverse range of datasets. Integration of the proposed artefact detection technique into remote monitoring devices could enhance reliability of the PPG-derived physiological parameters.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: Primary and secondary schools in Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: 11 246 non-smoking school-going adolescents.
OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence and factors associated with smoking susceptibility among non-smoking school-going adolescents in Malaysia.
RESULTS: Approximately 14% of non-smokers were susceptible to smoking, and the prevalence of susceptibility was significantly higher among males, ever-smokers and e-cigarette users. The odds of susceptibility to smoking were higher among males, e-cigarette users, those aged 12 years and under and those who had ever smoked or tried cigarettes. Students from schools with educational programmes on the health effects of second-hand smoke (SHS) and who perceived smoking to be harmful were less likely to be susceptible to smoking.
CONCLUSION: Smoking susceptibility is prevalent among school-going adolescents. A comprehensive approach that enhances or reinforces health education programmes on the adverse health effects of smoking and SHS among school children, that considers multiple factors and that involves all stakeholders is urgently needed to reduce the prevalence of smoking susceptibility among vulnerable subgroups, as identified from the present findings.
METHODS: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled prospective interventional study was conducted in school children aged 8-14 years. The study participants were divided into four groups depending upon the mouthwash used: Group 1 (aloe vera), Group 2 (chlorhexidine), Group 3 (tea tree oil) and Group 4 (placebo). The variables studied included plaque index, gingival index and salivary Streptococcus mutans counts, which were recorded at baseline, 4 weeks after supervised mouth rinse and after 2 weeks of stopping the mouth rinse.
RESULTS: A total of 89 boys and 63 girls were included. A statistically significant decrease in all variables was noted after the use of both the herbal preparations at the end of 4 weeks which was maintained after the 2-week washout period (p