Scrotal Scintigraphy in Testicular Torsion: An Experience at a Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction: Accurate diagnosis of testicular torsion is important to avoid serious consequences of any delay in proper management. Objective of this study was to compare performance parameters of scrotal scintigraphy and scrotal ultrasound to correctly and confidently diagnose the etiology of an acute scrotum in university hospital settings. Materials and Methods: This is an observational study with a retrospective analysis of data from July 2004 to March 2009. A total of 21 patients (age three years to 37 years) were referred from Emergency Department for scrotal scintigraphy to rule out testicular torsion. All patients went through a standard protocol for scrotal scintigraphy upon referral to Nuclear Medicine Department. Scrotal ultrasound was performed either before or immediately after the scintigraphy. Results: Confirmation of the diagnosis in all 21 patients was based either on the histopathological report of the surgical specimen (n=7) or through clinical follow up (for conservative treatment; n=14). At presentation, nine patients (43%) had left sided pain, and 12 patients (57%) had right sided pain (p>0.05). Eight patients (38%) were diagnosed to have testicular torsion on scintigraphy; one of them turned out to be false positive (testicular abscess). Sensitivity of scrotal scintigraphy to diagnose testicular torsion was 100%, specificity 93%, negative predictive value (NPV) 100% and positive predictive value (PPV) 88%. Conclusion: Scrotal scintigraphy in an acute scrotum is a feasible procedure to be performed on emergency basis, and it is a valid and reliable test to diagnose testicular torsion when US is doubtful or non conclusive

Linkage Mapping of Stem Saccharification Digestibility in Rice

Rice is the staple food of almost half of the world population, and in excess 90% of it is grown and consumed in Asia, but the disposal of rice straw poses a problem for farmers, who often burn it in the fields, causing health and environmental problems. However, with increased focus on the development of sustainable biofuel production, rice straw has been recognized as a potential feedstock for non-food derived biofuel production. Currently, the commercial realization of rice as a biofuel feedstock is constrained by the high cost of industrial saccharification processes needed to release sugar for fermentation. This study is focused on the alteration of lignin content, and cell wall chemotypes and structures, and their effects on the saccharification potential of rice lignocellulosic biomass. A recombinant inbred lines (RILs) population derived from a cross between the lowland rice variety IR1552 and the upland rice variety Azucena with 271 molecular markers for quantitative trait SNP (QTS) analyses was used. After association analysis of 271 markers for saccharification potential, 1 locus and 4 pairs of epistatic loci were found to contribute to the enzymatic digestibility phenotype, and an inverse relationship between reducing sugar and lignin content in these recombinant inbred lines was identified. As a result of QTS analyses, several cell-wall associated candidate genes are proposed that may be useful for marker-assisted breeding and may aid breeders to produce potential high saccharification rice varieties

Relevance of tissue Doppler in the quantification of stress echocardiography for the detection of myocardial ischemia in clinical practice

In the present article we review the main published data on the application of Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) to stress echocardiography for the detection of myocardial ischemia. TDI has been applied to stress echocardiography in order to overcome the limitations of visual analysis for myocardial ischemia. The introduction of a new technology for clinical routine use should pass through the different phases of scientific assessment from feasibility studies to large multicenter studies, from efficacy to effectiveness studies. Nonetheless the pro-technology bias plays a major role in medicine and expensive and sophisticated techniques are accepted before their real usefulness and incremental value to the available ones is assessed. Apparently, TDI is not exempted by this approach : its applications are not substantiated by strong and sound results. Nonetheless, conventional stress echocardiography for myocardial ischemia detection is heavily criticized on the basis of its subjectivity. Stress echocardiography has a long lasting history and the evidence collected over 20 years positioned it as an established tool for the detection and prognostication of coronary artery disease. The quantitative assessment of myocardial ischemia remains a scientific challenge and a clinical goal but time has not come for these newer ultrasonographic techniques which should be restricted to research laboratories

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics

Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public health behaviour, we present a dataset comprising of 51,404 individuals from 69 countries. This dataset was collected for the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 project (ICSMP COVID-19). This social science survey invited participants around the world to complete a series of moral and psychological measures and public health attitudes about COVID-19 during an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and June 2020). The survey included seven broad categories of questions: COVID-19 beliefs and compliance behaviours; identity and social attitudes; ideology; health and well-being; moral beliefs and motivation; personality traits; and demographic variables. We report both raw and cleaned data, along with all survey materials, data visualisations, and psychometric evaluations of key variables

The MRC National Survey of Health and Development reaches age 70: maintaining participation at older ages in a birth cohort study

A life course approach to ageing relies on maintaining participation rates in national birth cohorts and other long-term longitudinal studies. This reduces the risk of selective attrition biasing associations between lifetime risk factors and health outcomes in later life and ensures the studies remain as representative as possible of the original population. We report the participation patterns for a postal questionnaire and home visit at 68–69 years of study members in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, the oldest and longest-running British birth cohort study. We investigated how participation varied by lifetime and recent contact, health status, previous clinical feedback and study engagement, taking account of prior socioeconomic and cognitive characteristics. Overall participation and home visit participation remained high (94 and 80%, respectively) and there were no gender differences. Participation was higher in those with higher levels of prior contact and lower in those with the poorest health status. Having previously received clinical feedback on actionable blood results was associated with reduced home visit participation but other forms of clinical feedback were not associated with subsequent participation. Activities that fostered study engagement were associated with increased home visit participation. These findings inform strategies to maintain participation in life course studies

Dominant culture and bullying : personal accounts of workers in Malaysia

Workplace bullying has been termed the cancer of the workplace; it is a widespread and often intractable problem. Internationally, a wealth of research has examined the prevalence of workplace bullying and its negative effects. This research base and the scientific definition of workplace bullying are, however, based on Western perspectives and supported by theories, models, and research studies conducted in Western cultures. The differences in cultural perspectives of Western and Eastern countries mean that workplace bullying may not be understood in the same way across different cultural groups, particularly when cultures differ along the Individualism-Collectivism dimension. Given that Malaysia is an Eastern country with a number of ethnic groups, a more comprehensive understanding of workplace bullying in the Malaysian context is important. Through a case study comprising in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 employees from different organisations in Malaysia, this chapter reveals six lay beliefs of workplace bullying and 19 lay beliefs about bullying behaviors. The study also found that the 12 bullying behaviors are work related while the other seven are personal-nature bullying behaviors. These results emphasize the influence of culture on how bullying is perceived within the Malaysian context, and the importance of understanding lay representations of workplace bullying from the Eastern context that apparent across nation. Based on the interviews, a general definition of workplace bullying from Malaysian employees' perspectives is presented and developed. The chapter concludes with implications for understanding bullying as an important psychosocial hazard at work and recommendations for future research and practice across the Asia Pacific region