Objective To study the current situation of reproductive tract infection among bearing age mar-fled women in countryside and influence factors. Methods We had examined 4916 women. Questionnaire investiga-tion,gynecologic examination,the inspection of pathogen and the B-ultrasound were collected by face to face in the clinic. Results The general prevalence rate of RTI was 53.93%. The prevalence rates of pelvic infection and cervici-tis were 3.97% and 51.12%. The prevalence rates of germs, trichomonal and candiclal vaginitis were 12.51%, 3.60% and 7.71% respectively. The infection rate for only one,two or three kind of RTI were 33.08% ,19.73% and 1.08% respectively. The influence factors were : age, education, family economy, sanitary habits, graviclity, frequent in-tercourse,induced abortion and knowledge towards RTI. Conclusion Among bearing age married women in country-side province the prevalence rate of RTI was higher and also showed evidence of some influence factors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: External counterpulsation (ECP) is a noninvasive method used to enhance cerebral perfusion by elevating the blood pressure in ischemic stroke. However, the response of the beat-to-beat blood pressure variability (BPV) in ischemic stroke patients during ECP remains unknown. METHODS: We enrolled recent ischemic stroke patients and healthy controls. Changes in the blood flow velocities in bilateral middle cerebral arteries and the continuous beat-to-beat blood pressure before, during, and after ECP were monitored. Power spectral analysis revealed that the BPV included oscillations at very low frequency (VLF; <0.04 Hz), low frequency (LF; 0.04-0.15 Hz), and high frequency (HF; 0.15-0.40 Hz), and the total power spectral density (TP; <0.40 Hz) and LF/HF ratio were calculated. RESULTS: We found that ECP significantly increased the systolic and diastolic blood pressures in both stroke patients and controls. ECP decreased markedly the systolic and diastolic BPVs at VLF and LF and the TP, and the diastolic BPV at HF when compared with baseline. The decreases in diastolic and systolic BPV reached 37.56% and 23.20%, respectively, at VLF, 21.15% and 12.19% at LF, 8.76% and 16.59% at HF, and 31.92% and 23.62% for the total TP in stroke patients, which did not differ from those in healthy controls. The change in flow velocity on the contralateral side was positively correlated with the total TP systolic BPV change induced by ECP (r=0.312, p=0.035). CONCLUSIONS: ECP reduces the beat-to-beat BPV when increasing the blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity in ischemic stroke patients. ECP might be able to improve the clinical outcome by decreasing the beat-to-beat BPV in stroke patients, and this should be explored further in future studies.
Blood Flow Velocity ; Blood Pressure* ; Cerebrovascular Circulation* ; Counterpulsation* ; Humans ; Methods ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Perfusion ; Stroke*

Objective To evaluate the impact of simultaneous integrated boost ( SIB) with different radiotherapy plans on the dosimetry of the target volume and organs at risk ( OAR) in patients with multiple brain metastases ( MBM ) , and to provide a basis for the selection of an optimal clinical radiotherapy. Methods Ten patients with MBM who were treated with whole-brain SIB radiotherapy were randomly selected in this analysis. The local imaging data from the enrolled patients were re-planned with dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy ( dynamic IMRT ) , dual-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy ( dual-arc VMAT) , and hybrid-IMRT ( h-IMRT) . h-IMRT plan was created by inversely optimizing 3 and 4 fixed fields of IMRT based on conformal radiotherapy. Two-tailed Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank sum test was performed to analyze the differences between the three radiotherapy plans in the conformity index ( CI) and homogeneity index (HI) of the planning target volumes (PTV), Dmean and Dmax of OAR, monitor units ( MU) , and delivery time. Results CI of PTVs with VMAT plan was better than that with IMRT and h-IMRT plans (P=004,000), and no significant difference in HI was observed between the three plans( P>005) . There were no significant differences in CI and HI between 3 and 4 fields in dynamic IMRT ( P>005 ) . h-IMRT 3-and 4-field plans had significantly reduced doses to the eye lens and eyeballs than dynamic IMRT and VMAT plans (all P=000), and the three plans had similar doses to the brainstem and optic nerve ( P>005) . As for the MHs and delivery time, dynamic IMRT and VMAT plans showed the highest and lowest value, respectively ( all P= 000 ) . Conclusions All the three plans meet the clinical requirements. VMAT shows the highest treatment efficiency. H-IMRT protects the eye lens and eyeballs more effectively while maintaining the doses to the PTV, with reduced MU compared with IMRT. These offer a reference for designing the radiotherapy plan in MBM patients.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. The top ten causes of death in Singapore include many cardiovascular-related diseases such as ischaemic heart disease. The increasing prevalence of CVD poses a burden to both the economy and healthcare system of a country. Dietary habits, in particular dietary fats and cholesterol intake, have been shown to greatly influence CVD risks. Therefore, reference and adherence to relevant dietary guidelines could be crucial in CVD prevention. Recent research findings have provided novel insights into the relationship between certain dietary fats or cholesterol intake and CVD risks, challenging or reinforcing previous guidelines. These findings may, however, be conflicting, and there are still controversies over the effects of dietary fats and cholesterol as well as their association with cardiovascular risk. This review paper aims to evaluate common controversies, identify gaps in relevant research areas and summarise evidence-based dietary recommendations.

Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Oximetry ; Hypoxia

Objective:To analyze the symmetry of different reference planes in the surgical simulation design of patients with protrusive jaw deformity with high and low eyes.Methods:Fifteen patients with partial jaw deformity were selected from January 2019 to June 2020, including 3 males and 12 females, aged 18-26 years, with average 23.78 years. Inclusion criteria were that the patients, aged more than 18 years, were diagnosed as protrusive jaw deformity with maxillary occlusal plane tilt and high and low eyes by clinical and imaging analysis. Three different 3D reference plane systems were established by different modeling methods. The distance between the landmarks of soft and hard tissues and the median sagittal plane was measured. The symmetry of skull was qualitatively analyzed by mirror image technique. The difference of three reference planes in surgical simulation symmetry of patients with protrusion jaw and high and low eyes was evaluated by one-way ANOVA.Results:Qualitative analysis showed that in the three measurement planes, the symmetry of the third reference plane was the best, and the symmetry of the second and the first was poor. Quantitative analysis showed that in measurement index of hard tissue, there was statistical difference between the distance of each landmark in the reference plane established by Method 3 and Method 1, Method 2 [(1.65±1.19) mm; (3.37±1.58) mm; (3.26±2.36) mm, P<0.05], but there was no statistical difference between Method 1 and Method 2 (P > 0.05). The measurement result of soft tissue was consistent with that of hard tissue, and the distance of each landmark in Method 3 from the median sagittal plane was very small, and the mean error was less than 0.5 mm, which was consistent with the clinical results. Conclusions:Digital model surgery technology can assist orthognathic surgeons in the design and prediction of surgical scheme, especially for patients with special partial jaw deformity.

Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Oximetry ; Hypoxia

INTRODUCTION: Countries are mandating the use of face masks to stem the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Face mask use has been associated with discomfort due to its effects on thermoregulation, breathing and oxygenation. We evaluated the prevalence and severity of self-reported cardiovascular symptoms before and during face mask use. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 1,001 participants residing in Singapore, who participated in a self-administered questionnaire between 25 April 2020 and 4 May 2020. Symptom severity before and during mask use, and health-seeking behaviour information were collected. The study outcome was self-reported worsening of cardiovascular symptoms and its association with the type of mask worn, duration of mask worn per day, and intensity of physical activities during mask use. RESULTS: The most common symptom reported during mask use was dyspnoea. Independent predictors for self-reported cardiovascular symptoms during mask use were moderate-high physical activity during mask use (odds ratio [OR] 1.634, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.176-2.270, P = 0.003), duration of mask use for ≥3 h (OR 1.672, 95% CI 1.189-2.352, P = 0.003) and type of mask used, after adjusting for age, sex, healthcare-based worker status and presence of comorbidities. N95 mask was associated with worse symptoms when compared to surgical mask. Participants with ≥3 worsening symptoms or worsening dyspnoea, palpitations, fatigue and dizziness were more likely to seek medical help. CONCLUSION Face mask use has been proven to be an effective way in curbing COVID-19 transmission. However, participants in this study had concerns regarding its use and these concerns should be urgently addressed to enable mask use policies to be enacted.
Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Pandemics ; Masks/adverse effects* ; Self Report ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dyspnea/etiology*

In Singapore, 9.03 million doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have been administered, and 4.46 million people are fully vaccinated. An additional 87,000 people have been vaccinated with vaccines in World Health Organization's Emergency Use Listing. The aim of this review is to explore the reported cardiac adverse events associated with different types of COVID-19 vaccines. A total of 42 studies that reported cardiac side effects after COVID-19 vaccination were included in this study. Reported COVID-19 vaccine-associated cardiac adverse events were mainly myocarditis and pericarditis, most commonly seen in adolescent and young adult male individuals after mRNA vaccination. Reports of other events such as acute myocardial infarction, arrhythmia and stress cardiomyopathy were rare. Outcomes of post-vaccine myocarditis and pericarditis were good. Given the good vaccine efficacy and the high number of cases of infection, hospitalisation and death that could potentially be prevented, COVID-19 vaccine remains of overall benefit, based on the current available data.
Adolescent ; Humans ; Male ; Young Adult ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects* ; Myocarditis/etiology* ; Pericarditis ; RNA, Messenger ; Vaccination/adverse effects*