Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the elemental analysis and microhardness of a bioactive material (Activa) and marginal tooth structure after storage in different media. Materials and Methods: Fifteen teeth received cervical restorations with occlusal enamel and gingival dentin margins using the tested material bonded with a universal adhesive, 5 of them on the 4 axial surfaces and the other 10 on only the 2 proximal surfaces. The first 5 teeth were sectioned into 4 restorations each, then stored in 4 different media; deionized water, Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (DPBS), Tris buffer, and saliva. The storage period for deionized water was 24 hours while it was 3 months for the other media. Each part was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis for different substrates/distances and the wt% of calcium, phosphorus, silica, and fluoride were calculated. The other 10 teeth were sectioned across the restoration, stored in either Tris buffer or saliva for 24 hours or 3 months, and were evaluated for microhardness of different substrates/ areas. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc test. Results: Enamel and dentin interfaces in the DPBS group exhibited a significant increase in calcium and phosphorus wt%. Both silica and fluoride significantly increased in tooth structure up to a distance of 75 μm in the 3-month-media groups than the immediate group.Storage media did not affect the microhardness values. Conclusions SEM-EDS analysis suggests an ion movement between Activa and tooth structure through a universal adhesive while stored in DPBS.

Introduction: Keratitis is an eye-threatening condition, which requires immediate treatment, due to the rapid progression when the infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study aimed to describe the socio-demographic factors and risk factors related to Pseudomonas keratitis in selected six government hospitals in Johor, Malaysia. Methods: An 18 months cross-sectional study was conducted among bacterial keratitis patients from six government hospitals offering ophthalmology services in Johor, Malaysia. The cases were confirmed through a positive culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All data on socio-demographic factors, risk factors, and symptoms were recorded using a data collection form and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 26. Results: Fifty-five patients were diagnosed with Pseudomonas keratitis in this study. The majority of patients were males (65.5%) with a mean age of 41.22 years old. The majority of patients were of Malay ethnicity (60.0%). More than a quarter of cases are involved in office-oriented jobs (n=14, 25.5%). The major risk factors in this study were contact-lens usage (n=25, 45.5%), trauma (n=20, 36.4%), ophthalmic steroid usage (n=16, 29.1%), ocular surface disease (n=12, 21.8%) and previous eye surgery (n=4, 7.3%). This study found underlying medical illness (p=0.036) and ocular surface disease (p=0.051) are significantly associated with Pseudomonas keratitis. Conclusion: The present study is the first study in Malaysia focusing on Pseudomonas keratitis. This study provides additional information on the epidemiology data of keratitis in Malaysia. Future studies shall be extended to all government hospitals in Malaysia to obtain better insight on the disease burden of keratitis especially on Pseudomonas keratitis.

Pengenalan: Soal selidik sebagai alat untuk mengukur faktor sosiobudaya berkaitan COVID-19 masih belum digunakan secara meluas oleh kebanyakan penyelidik. Di Malaysia, tiada soal selidik yang dibina dan disahkan untuk tujuan tersebut. Oleh itu, tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk membina dan mengesahkan soal selidik sebagai alat ujian yang baru bagi mengukur faktor sosiobudaya berkaitan COVID-19 dalam kalangan Orang Asli di Malaysia. Metodologi: Kajian rintis ini melibatkan 30 orang penduduk Orang Asli di Pos Lenjang, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. Indeks Kesahan Kandungan (CVI) digunakan untuk menguji kesahan kandungan soal selidik, manakala kesahan konstruk dan kebolehpercayaan konsistensi dalaman soal selidik ditentukan menggunakan Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) dan Cronbach’s Alpha. Hasil Kajian: Satu set soal selidik terdiri daripada empat konstruk telah dibina iaitu kepercayaan, amalan perubatan tradisional, adat dan budaya tradisional, dan sokongan sosial. Sebanyak 16 item telah dikekalkan di dalam EFA dengan nilai Cronbach’s Alpha setiap konstruk adalah 0.617, 0.778, 0.773 dan 0.779. Rumusan Soal selidik yang telah dibina ini berjaya divalidasi dan boleh digunakan untuk mengukur faktor sosiobudaya berkaitan COVID-19 dalam kalangan Orang Asli. Walau bagaimanapun, penambahbaikan masih perlu dilakukan dari masa ke semasa untuk memastikan soal selidik ini relevan terutamanya jika ia digunakan ke atas populasi atau dari negara yang berbeza dari Malaysia, dengan mengambil kira juga penyakit yang berbeza.

Introduction: To describe the duration of survival among bone tumour patients with endoprosthesis reconstruction and to determine frequency of implant failure, revision of surgery, and amputation after endoprosthesis reconstruction. Materials and methods: A retrospective cross-sectional review of all patients with either primary bone tumour or secondary bone metastases treated with en bloc resection and endoprosthesis reconstruction from January 2008 to December 2020. Results: A total of 35 failures were recorded among the 27 (48.2%) patients with endoprostheses. Some of the patients suffered from one to three types of modes of failure on different timelines during the course of the disease. Up to eight patients suffered from more than one type of failure throughout the course of the disease. Out of all modes of failure, local recurrence (type 5 failure) was the most common, accounting for 25.0% of all failure cases. Four patients (7.1%) eventually underwent amputation, which were either due to infection (2 patients) or disease progression causing local recurrence (2 patients). Conclusion: The overall result of endoprosthesis reconstruction performed in our centre was compatible with other centres around the world. Moreover, limb salvage surgery should be performed carefully in a selected patient group to maximise the benefits of surgery.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the results of radiofrequency (RF) thermotherapy and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in patients who required benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) surgery and had storage symptoms. Methods: The results of patients who had undergone TURP and RF thermotherapy procedures between December 2019 and 2022 were compared before and after the procedure. Patients’ International Prostate Symptom Scores, maximum flow rate (Qmax), postvoiding residues, and overactive bladder validated 8 scores (OAB-V8) at 3 and 6 months were analyzed. Results: While the preprocedural OAB-V8 in the RF thermotherapy group was 25.85, this score decreased to 18.12 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 3rd month and 16.42 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 6th month. While the preprocedural OAB-V8 score in TURP group was 23.26, it decreased to 20.17 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 3rd month and 19.84 at the postprocedural 6th month, and there was no significant difference between the 3rd-month and 6th-month values (P=0.328). The proportion of de crease in the OAB-V8 scores was 30% at the 3rd month and 36% at the 6th month in the RF thermotherapy group, whereas it was 13% at the 3rd month and 15% at the 6th month in TURP group. Conclusions It was determined that RF thermotherapy was 2.35 times more effective than TURP on OAB-V8 scores. In addition to its acceptable effect on Qmax, its continued effect on storage symptoms at 6 months may be a significant advantage over the TURP. As a minimally invasive method, RF thermotherapy can be offered as a suitable option for BPO patients with storage symptoms.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the results of radiofrequency (RF) thermotherapy and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in patients who required benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) surgery and had storage symptoms. Methods: The results of patients who had undergone TURP and RF thermotherapy procedures between December 2019 and 2022 were compared before and after the procedure. Patients’ International Prostate Symptom Scores, maximum flow rate (Qmax), postvoiding residues, and overactive bladder validated 8 scores (OAB-V8) at 3 and 6 months were analyzed. Results: While the preprocedural OAB-V8 in the RF thermotherapy group was 25.85, this score decreased to 18.12 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 3rd month and 16.42 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 6th month. While the preprocedural OAB-V8 score in TURP group was 23.26, it decreased to 20.17 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 3rd month and 19.84 at the postprocedural 6th month, and there was no significant difference between the 3rd-month and 6th-month values (P=0.328). The proportion of de crease in the OAB-V8 scores was 30% at the 3rd month and 36% at the 6th month in the RF thermotherapy group, whereas it was 13% at the 3rd month and 15% at the 6th month in TURP group. Conclusions It was determined that RF thermotherapy was 2.35 times more effective than TURP on OAB-V8 scores. In addition to its acceptable effect on Qmax, its continued effect on storage symptoms at 6 months may be a significant advantage over the TURP. As a minimally invasive method, RF thermotherapy can be offered as a suitable option for BPO patients with storage symptoms.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the results of radiofrequency (RF) thermotherapy and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in patients who required benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) surgery and had storage symptoms. Methods: The results of patients who had undergone TURP and RF thermotherapy procedures between December 2019 and 2022 were compared before and after the procedure. Patients’ International Prostate Symptom Scores, maximum flow rate (Qmax), postvoiding residues, and overactive bladder validated 8 scores (OAB-V8) at 3 and 6 months were analyzed. Results: While the preprocedural OAB-V8 in the RF thermotherapy group was 25.85, this score decreased to 18.12 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 3rd month and 16.42 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 6th month. While the preprocedural OAB-V8 score in TURP group was 23.26, it decreased to 20.17 (P<0.001) at the postprocedural 3rd month and 19.84 at the postprocedural 6th month, and there was no significant difference between the 3rd-month and 6th-month values (P=0.328). The proportion of de crease in the OAB-V8 scores was 30% at the 3rd month and 36% at the 6th month in the RF thermotherapy group, whereas it was 13% at the 3rd month and 15% at the 6th month in TURP group. Conclusions It was determined that RF thermotherapy was 2.35 times more effective than TURP on OAB-V8 scores. In addition to its acceptable effect on Qmax, its continued effect on storage symptoms at 6 months may be a significant advantage over the TURP. As a minimally invasive method, RF thermotherapy can be offered as a suitable option for BPO patients with storage symptoms.