BACKGROUND

Combat sports are intense and physically demanding, and healthy weight control practices are necessary to ensure a safe and fair competition for all athletes involved.

The study will determine the dietary and non-dietary weight control practices of Philippine National Wushu Sanda athletes. It will also aim to explore the perceived effects of these practices on performance and well-being.

A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews will be used to gain insights into the athletes' experiences, habits, and practices regarding their weight control practices. The semi-structured questionnaire will focus on daily food intake, weight control practices, and their effects on performance and well-being. Thematic data analysis will be used to analyze the data.

Weight control practices of Wushu Sanda Athletes vary depending on the training phase. Both dietary practices, such as water intake, skipping meals, and food choices, and non-dietary practices, such as intense training and sweat suits, are expected to be observed to achieve their desired weight. These practices are anticipated to have been influenced by their coaches and senior athletes, having both positive and negative effects on the athlete’s physical, mental, and psychological well-being.

Humans ; Extremities ; Sarcoma/radiotherapy* ; Soft Tissue Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local

Introduction: Cyberbullying is the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group to harm others. Cyberbullying may negatively affect the studies, personal lives and mental health of victims who are students. We report on the prevalence of cyberbullying and its effects on personal lives, studies, and mental health among medical students. Methods: A self-administered online questionnaire was used to collect demographic data, determine the prevalence of cyberbullying, and its effects on personal lives, studies and mental health of medical students. Student-t test was used for comparison of means, and logistic analysis was used to identify predictors of being cyberbullied. Results: 40 out of 261 study participants reported being cyberbullied in the preceding 6 months (prevalence: 15.3%). Cyberbullying did not negatively affect the studies and personal lives of victims. Most victims reported none or minimal-to-mild depression. Malay ethnicity was a predictor of being cyberbullied. Female students were 5-times more likely to be cyberbullied because of their lifestyle compared to males. Conclusion The prevalence of cyberbullying among medical students in this study was relatively low compared to reports from other universities. Cyberbullying had little to no effect on the studies, personal life, and mental health of medical students in our study. Malay ethnicity was a significant predictor to being cyberbullied. Females were more likely to be cyberbullied for their lifestyle. Support systems, awareness of good internet etiquette, and promotion of early help-seeking behaviour, especially targeted at identified vulnerable groups, should be put in place to check the practice of cyberbullying.
Malaysia ; Students, Medical ; Mental Health

Background: and Purpose Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). Results: There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. Conclusions During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT.

Aims: The basal stem rot disease in oil palm is caused by the pathogenic Ganoderma boninense, which is infectious after mating and forming dikaryotic hyphae. This study was aimed to generate a mating-type biomarker for the detection of pathogenic Ganoderma species. Methodology and results: Mating-type region of Ganoderma was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and primers flanking the mating-type region of other basidiomycetes. Amplified fragments were sequenced and were identified as the Ganoderma pheromone receptor gene of matB locus called the gprb2 gene. Using this biomarker, the pheromone receptor gene was detected in a total of 107 pathogenic Ganoderma spp. while the gene was not detected in the non-pathogenic Ganoderma lucidum. Phylogenetic tree analyses of the gene fragment encoding the partial amino acid sequence of gprb2 showed clades of close evolutionary relationship among the 107 pathogenic Ganoderma spp. Phylogenetic analyses using deduced amino acid sequences of the Ganoderma pheromone receptor b2 gene, gprb2 with homologous pheromone receptors of other basidiomycetous fungi revealed high conservation of this pheromone receptor within their respective taxonomy. Conclusion, significance and impact of study A potential mating-type biomarker was successfully identified that could detect pathogenic Ganoderma spp. The research findings will be helpful in oil palm screening to detect pathogenic Ganoderma spp. and gain further insight into the role of the mating-type loci of Ganoderma towards its pathogenesis in causing the basal stem rot disease of oil palm.
Genes, Mating Type, Fungal ; Ganoderma

Humans ; Infant ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Vitamin D Deficiency/epidemiology*

COVID-19 ; Elective Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Orthopedic Procedures ; Pandemics ; SARS-CoV-2

INTRODUCTION: Chest radiographs (CXRs) are widely used for the screening and management of COVID-19. This article describes the radiographic features of COVID-19 based on an initial national cohort of patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of swab-positive patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to four different hospitals in Singapore between 22 January and 9 March 2020. Initial and follow-up CXRs were reviewed by three experienced radiologists to identify the predominant pattern and distribution of lung parenchymal abnormalities. RESULTS: In total, 347 CXRs of 96 patients were reviewed. Initial CXRs were abnormal in 41 (42.7%) out of 96 patients. The mean time from onset of symptoms to CXR abnormality was 5.3 ± 4.7 days. The predominant pattern of lung abnormality was ground-glass opacity on initial CXRs (51.2%) and consolidation on follow-up CXRs (51.0%). Multifocal bilateral abnormalities in mixed central and peripheral distribution were observed in 63.4% and 59.2% of abnormal initial and follow-up CXRs, respectively. The lower zones were involved in 90.2% of initial CXRs and 93.9% of follow-up CXRs. CONCLUSION In a cohort of swab-positive patients, including those identified from contact tracing, we found a lower incidence of CXR abnormalities than was previously reported. The most common pattern was ground-glass opacity or consolidation, but mixed central and peripheral involvement was more common than peripheral involvement alone.
COVID-19 ; Humans ; Lung/diagnostic imaging* ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Retrospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Singapore

Cartilage ; Hallux ; Humans ; Osteoarthritis/surgery*