The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) is a self-assessment scale designed to evaluate anhedonia in various psychiatric disorders. To facilitate its use in Malaysian settings, our current study aimed to examine the validity of the Simplified-Chinese translated version of the SHAPS (SHAPS-SC) in a group of subjects at a university out-patient clinic. Method: A total of 40 depressed patients were recruited in this cross sectional study. They were given both the Simplified Chinese and Malay versions of SHAPS, General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess their hedonic state, general mental health condition and level of depression. Results: Our study showed that SHAPS-SC had impressive internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.84) and concurrent validity, and fair parallel-forms reliability (Pearson’s correlation 0.39). Conclusion: SHAPS-SC demonstrate good psychometric properties in the evaluation of hedonic state among a group of Chinese speaking depressed patients in an out-patient setting. It is easy to administer and suitable as a valid and reliable questionnaire in assessing anhedonia among depressed patients in Malaysia.
Patients ; Depression ; Outpatient Clinics, Hospital

Introduction: This study aimed to validate the Malay version of the short form Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-M-SF) and to examine its psychometric properties in a cohort of pre-university adolescents. Methods: We obtained the validity and reliability evidence for the SAS-M-SF using a group of 307 pre-university students in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia with a mean age of 18.4±0.2 years (70.4% female and 29.6% male). A questionnaire containing the Malay version of Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-M), the Malay version of the short form Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-M-SF), and the Malay version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT-M) was administered on the adolescents. Results: The SAS-M-SF displayed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=0.80). Using principle component analysis, we identified a 4-factor SAS-M-SF model. A significant correlation between the SAS-M-SF and the IAT-M was found, lending support for concurrent validity. The prevalence of smartphone addiction was 54.5% based on cut-off score of ≥36 with a sensitivity of 70.2% and a specificity of 72.5%. Conclusions: The 10-item SAS-M-SF is a valid and reliable screening tool for smartphone addiction among adolescents. The scale can help clinicians or educators design appropriate intervention and prevention programs targeting smartphone addiction in adolescents at clinical or school settings.

Background: The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) is a self-assessment scale designed to evaluate anhedonia in various psychiatric disorders. In order to facilitate its use in Malaysian settings, our current study aimed to examine the validity of a Malay-translated version of the SHAPS (SHAPS-M). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 44 depressed patients and 82 healthy subjects were recruited from a university out-patient clinic. All participants were given both the Malay and English versions of the SHAPS, Fawcett-Clark Pleasure Scale (FCPS), General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess their hedonic state, general mental health condition and levels of depression. Results: The results showed that the SHAPS-M has impressive internal consistency (α = 0.96), concurrent validity and good parallel-form reliability (intraclass coefficient, ICC = 0.65). Conclusion: In addition to demonstrating good psychometric properties, the SHAPS-M is easy to administer. Therefore, it is a valid, reliable, and suitable questionnaire for assessing anhedonia among depressed patients in Malaysia.

Introduction: Internet is important to university students, especially for medical students who use it to search for literature and relevant information. However, some of the users are experiencing a gradual loss of the ability to reduce the duration and frequency of their internet activities, despite the negative consequences. The literature on internet usage among Malaysian medical students is limited. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with internet usage among medical students in a public university in Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed among all the medical students (Year 1-5). Students were assessed on their internet activities using the internet addiction questionnaires (IAT). A Multiple Logistic Regression was used for data analysis. Results: The study was conducted among 426 students. The study population consisted of 156 males (36.6%) and 270 females (63.4%). The mean age was 21.6 ±1.5 years. Ethnicity distribution among the students was: Malays (55.6%), Chinese (34.7%), Indians (7.3%) and others (2.3%). According to the IAT, 36.9% of the study sample was addicted to the internet. Using the multivariate logistic regression analysis, we have found that the use of internet access for entertainment purposes (odds ratio [OR] 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-12.00), male students (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.01-3.21) and increasing frequency of internet usage were associated with internet addiction (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.09- 1.67). Conclusion: Internet addiction is a relatively frequent phenomenon among medical students. The predictors of internet addiction were male students using it for surfing and entertainment purposes.
Internet ; Students, Medical

Methods: We recruited young patients with nonspecific low back pain for <3 months, who were otherwise healthy. Each patient had EOS images taken in the flexed, erect and extended positions, in random order, as well as magnetic resonance imaging to assess for disk degeneration. Angular and disk height measurements were performed and compared in all three postures using paired t-tests. Changes in disk height relative to the erect posture were caclulated to determine the alignment-specific load-bearing area of each FSU. Results: Eighty-three patients (415 lumbar intervertebral disks) were studied. Significant alignment changes were found between all three postures at L1/2, and only between erect and flexion at the other FSUs. Disk height measurements showed that the neutral axis of the spine, marked by zones where disk heights did not change, varied between postures and was level specific. The load-bearing areas were also found to be more anterior in flexion and more posterior in extension, with the erect spine resembling the extended spine to a greater extent. Conclusions Load-bearing areas of the lumbar spine are sagittal alignment-specific and level-specific. This may imply that, depending on the surgical realignment strategy, attention should be paid not just to placing an intervertebral cage “as anterior as possible” for generating lordosis, but also on optimizing load-bearing in the lumbar spine.

Background: The rise in substance-use-related problems among Malaysian adolescents called for a study to assess the efficacy of an anti-drug educational program to improve the knowledge, attitudeand perception (KAP) of Malaysian students regarding substance use. Methods: This study involved 573 students from four Malaysian Chinese schools in Malacca. Each student filled out a Likert-scale mandarin translated questionnaire (KAP-C) on substance use ( Pre-test). Following an educational program on substance use, the KAP-C questionnaire was given again to the students, immediately following the program (PT 1), and after a month (PT 2) and two months (PT3) of the programme. Results: The students showed improvement in knowledge of the types of substance use in PT 1 (p<0.001), PT 2 (p<0.001) and PT 3 (p<0.001). The study also showed persistent changes in their attitude towards drug treatment strategies at two months following the program (p < 0.05). Changes were also noted in their attitudestowards harm reduction strategies. Perceptions towards the substance-related problems changed following the module (p=0.001), and remained even after two months (p<0.001). Conclusion: This module effectively changed the KAP of students on substance use.

BACKGROUND: Epidemic thunderstorm asthma (ETSA) severely affected Melbourne, Australia in November 2016. There is scant literature on the natural history of individuals affected by ETSA. OBJECTIVE: A multicentre 12-month prospective observational study was conducted assessing symptomatology and behaviors of ETSA-affected individuals. METHODS: We used a structured phone questionnaire to assess asthma symptom frequency, inhaled preventer use, asthma action plan ownership and healthcare utilization over 12 months since the ETSA. Analysis of results included subgroup analyses of the “current,” “past,” “probable,“ and “no asthma” subgroups defined according to their original 2016 survey responses. RESULTS: Four hundred forty-two questionnaires were analyzed. Eighty percent of individuals reported ongoing asthma symptoms at follow-up, of which 28% were affected by asthma symptoms at least once a week. Risk of persistent asthma symptoms was significantly higher in those with prior asthma diagnosis, current asthma, and probable undiagnosed asthma (all p < 0.01). Of 442 respondents, 53% were prescribed inhaled preventers, of which 51% were adherent at least 5 days a week. Forty-two percent had a written asthma action plan and 16% had sought urgent medical attention for asthma in the preceding year. CONCLUSIONS: Following an episode of ETSA, patients experience a pivotal change in asthma trajectory with both loss of asthma control and persistence of de novo asthma. Suboptimal rates of inhaled preventer adherence and asthma action plan ownership may contribute to asthma exacerbation risk and susceptibility to future ETSA episodes. Longer-term follow-up is needed to determine the extent and severity of this apparent change.
Asthma ; Australia ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Environmental Exposure ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Natural History ; Observational Study ; Ownership ; Prospective Studies ; Public Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Weather

INTRODUCTION: The NCR had amassed 752,668 cases of COVID-19 as of September 2021, the highest among the regions in the Philippines. This study aimed to determine the correlation between population, population density, age, and sex with the number of cases among local government units (LGU) in the National Capital Region (NCR). METHODS: The data for population, population density, age, and sex distribution of the LGUs of NCR were retrieved from the 2015 Philippine census while the data for cases were from DOH’s COVID-19 Tracker. Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to determine the correlation between population, population density and cases. Phi and Cramer’s V statistic were computed to determine associations between sex, age groups, and cases. RESULTS: There was little or no correlation between population density and number of cases (r = 0.236) but was good (r = 0.905) when Quezon City was excluded for being an outlier. There was good correlation between population and number of cases (r = 964, p < 0.001). There was very weak to no association between sex and number of COVID-19 cases. There was a statistically significant moderate association between age and COVID-19 cases (f = 0.145, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION The study has shown that population density and population have a good correlation with the number of COVID-19 after Quezon City was removed as a data point. There is a moderate association between age and number of COVID-19 cases. There is a very weak to no association between sex and COVID-19 cases.

Objectives: This study aims to develop a Filipino translation of the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW-QOL) version 4, and determine its internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Methods: This was a cross sectional mixed methods study comprised of two parts. The first part consisted of Filipino translation of the UW-QOL version 4 questionnaire. The second part validated the internal consistency and testretest reliability through statistical analysis. Results: The Cronbach’s coefficient was high (0.88) which denotes good internal consistency. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was obtained to determine the test-retest reliability of the translated questionnaire. A p value of <0.05 indicates that the questionnaire has good test-retest reliability. The p value was high in most of the items of the questionnaire. Conclusion The internal consistency of the translated questionnaire is high and comparable to other translations of the same questionnaire. The test-retest reliability is low owing to the interventions done between the test and retest.
Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Our previous studies have demonstrated that Fam20C promotes differentiation and mineralization of odontoblasts, ameloblasts, osteoblasts and osteocytes during tooth and bone development. Ablation of the Fam20C gene inhibits bone and tooth growth by increasing fibroblast growth factor 23 in serum and causing hypophosphatemia in conditional knockout mice. However, control and regulation of the expression of Fam20C are still unknown. In this study, we generated a transgenic reporter model which expresses green fluorescence protein (GFP) driven by the Fam20C promoter. Recombineering was used to insert a 16 kb fragment of the mouse Fam20C gene (containing the 15 kb promoter and 1.1 kb of exon 1) into a pBluescript SK vector with the topaz variant of GFP and a bovine growth hormone polyadenylation sequence. GFP expression was subsequently evaluated by histomorphometry on cryosections from E14 to adult mice. Fluorescence was evident in the bone and teeth as early as E17.5. The GFP signal was maintained stably in odontoblasts and osteoblasts until 4 weeks after birth. The expression of GFP was significantly reduced in teeth, alveolar bone and muscle by 8 weeks of age. We also observed colocalization of the GFP signal with the Fam20C antibody in postnatal 1- and 7-day-old animals. Successful generation of Fam20C-GFP transgenic mice will provide a unique model for studying Fam20C gene expression and the biological function of this gene during odontogenesis and osteogenesis.
Animals ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; genetics ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Transgenic ; Odontogenesis ; genetics ; Osteogenesis ; genetics