METHODS: A sample of young adult males was divided into underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese groups, according to their BMI. Standardised methods were used to measure height, WC and HC. Total body fat, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, total and regional muscle mass were assessed by bioelectrical impedance technique utilising Karada scan. Salivary ghrelin concentrations were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS: A total of 90 adult males were included in the analysis (underweight n=9, normal weight n=41, overweight n=22, and obese n=18). One-way ANOVA test revealed significant differences among the groups in all of the variables except height and salivary ghrelin levels. Multiple linear regression revealed a significant association between salivary ghrelin levels with total fat, subcutaneous fat, visceral fat and muscle mass in the obese group. The analysis also revealed that BMI, WC, HC, WHR and WHtR were reliable predictors for salivary ghrelin levels in the obese group but not in other groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Anthropometric measures can be used as predictors for salivary ghrelin levels in healthy obese adults. However, they are poor predictors for salivary ghrelin levels in healthy lean, normal and overweight adults.
METHODS: A 5-point Likert scale valid and reliable questionnaire assessing the attitude towards PBL, ASC, and ILOC was given to phase one medical students at MAHSA University. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS ver. 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, USA).
RESULTS: Out of 255 participants, there were 84 males and 171 females, 175 Malaysians and 80 non-Malaysians. The results showed an overall acceptance of PBL with a mean of 3.7±0.07, ASC of 3.5±0.05 and ILOC of 2.9±0.05. Females showed a higher significant acceptance of PBL, ASC, and ILOC as compared with males. There was no difference between Malaysians and non-Malaysians in any of the variables measured. Simple regression analysis revealed a significant predictive effect of acceptance of PBL on ASC and ILOC (r=0.44 and r=0.88, respectively).
CONCLUSION: The higher the acceptance of PBL among students, the higher is the ASC and ILOC. This reflects the importance of PBL as a teaching method as well as the importance of increasing the level of appreciation of PBL amongst students.
METHODS: PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and CINAHL databases were searched to find studies that examined FT. There was no limit on the design or setting of the study. Random-effects meta-analysis was utilized to obtain the pooled prevalence of objective FT.
RESULTS: Out of 244 identified studies during the initial screening, only 64 studies were included in this review. The catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) method was often used in the included studies to determine the objective FT. The pooled prevalence of CHE was 47% (95% CI: 24.0-70.0) in middle- and high-income countries, and the highest percentage was noted in low-income countries (74.4%). A total of 30 studies focused on subjective FT, of which 9 used the Comprehensive Score for FT (COST) tool and reported median scores ranging between 17.0 and 31.9.
CONCLUSION: This study shows that cancer patients from various income-group countries experienced a significant financial burden during their treatment. It is imperative to conduct further studies on interventions and policies that can lower FT caused by cancer treatment.
METHODS: A single-center, systematically randomly sampled, single-blinded, controlled study was conducted among 80 first-year medical students. The students were randomly assigned to the text-reading (control) or story-based audiovisual mnemonics (intervention) group. After completing the learning session, the participants immediately took a test that consisted of ten multiple-choice questions, each of which had one correct single-response answer, and an oral recall test that consisted of ten keywords based on the given topics. The test was repeated at 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks post intervention. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to assess the participants' responses. The mean score difference between the audiovisual mnemonics and control groups was determined by using a two-tailed unpaired t-test.
RESULTS: The participants in the intervention group had statistically significant higher marks in the multiple-choice test as compared to the participants in the control group. The intervention group also spent a statistically significant shorter time to recall keywords in the oral recall test in comparison to the control group.
CONCLUSION: The story-based audiovisual mnemonics method is more effective than the conventional text-reading method in promoting memory retention among medical students.