Students' acceptance of youtube for procedural learning

This research investigates students' acceptance of YouTube for procedural learning. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data based on sample of 240 respondents who pursuing studies in a public higher learning institution in Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia. Results revealed that there is connection between content richness, task-technology fit, YouTube self-efficacy and vividness and behavioral intention to use YouTube. Results may enhance the intentions of users on browsing YouTube for more procedural learning. YouTube can enlarge the functions as a mass-oriented means for procedural learning to increase the perceived usefulness of YouTube and improve the users' behavioral intention to browse YouTube. The role of this study is important to dedicate the YouTube users for the procedural learning in their education tasks. This study is to integrate the TAM with perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness to have an effect on the activity intention of users

Suggested guidelines for screening and management of tuberculosis in patients taking oral glucocorticoids--an important but often neglected issue

One third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis and its incidence is increasing. Systemic glucocorticoids are the mainstay of immunosuppressive therapy for immunobullous diseases and collagen vascular diseases in dermatology. Patients who are given prolonged glucocorticoid therapy may be at risk for both the acquisition of primary tuberculosis and the reactivation of nonactive tuberculosis. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of screening for tuberculosis and its management in this group of patients, as there are no published guidelines in the dermatology literature on this subject. We summarize the methods used for tuberculosis screening, give an account of treatment regimens for the various types of tuberculosis infection, and suggest a practical approach to screening and management of tuberculosis in patients receiving long-term glucocorticoid therapy

Prevention of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in immunobullous diseases with alendronate: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral alendronate sodium therapy once daily in preventing glucocorticoid-induced bone loss in patients with immunobullous skin diseases treated with long-term glucocorticoid therapy. A 12-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. A tertiary referral dermatology center in Singapore. Patients newly diagnosed as having an immunobullous disease and deemed to require at least 6 months of systemic glucocorticoid therapy. The patients were randomized to receive either oral alendronate sodium (10 mg/d) or a matching placebo for 12 months. All patients also received concurrent calcium with vitamin D, 2 tablets daily. Percent change in bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck at 12 months. A total of 29 patients (alendronate [n = 15], placebo [n = 14]) were evaluated. The percent change in BMD in the alendronate group was +3.7% and +3.5% at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck, respectively, whereas in the placebo group, it was -1.4% and -0.7% at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck, respectively. The increase in BMD observed in the alendronate group compared with the placebo group was statistically significant at both the lumbar spine (P = .01) and the femoral neck (P = .01). There was also a statistically significant decrease in serum heat-labile alkaline phosphatase levels after 12 months (-32.6%, P < .01) in the alendronate group but not in the placebo group. Adverse events were generally minor, and the frequency of occurrence did not differ significantly between both treatment groups (P = .59). There were statistically significant increases in BMD at both the lumbar spine (P = .01) and the femoral neck (P = .01) with alendronate therapy. It is imperative to use bisphophonate therapy in patients with immunobullous disorders who are receiving oral corticosteroids because it largely prevents the morbidity associated with low BMD

Unique and recurrent mutations in the filaggrin gene in Singaporean Chinese patients with ichthyosis vulgaris

Filaggrin is an abundant protein of the outer epidermis that is essential for terminal differentiation of keratinocytes and formation of an effective barrier against water loss and pathogen/allergen/irritant invasion. Recent investigations in Europe and Japan have revealed null mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG) as the underlying cause of ichthyosis vulgaris (IV), a common skin disorder characterised by dry skin, palmar hyperlinearity and keratosis pilaris. Following the development of a strategy for the comprehensive analysis of FLG, we have identified five unique mutations and one recurrent mutation in Singaporean Chinese IV patients. Mutation 441delA is located in the profilaggrin S100 domain, whereas two additional frameshift mutations, 1249insG and 7945delA, occur in the first partial filaggrin repeat (“repeat 0”) and in filaggrin repeat 7, respectively. Both nonsense mutations Q2147X and E2422X are found in filaggrin repeat 6, whereas R4307X was found on one of the longer size variant alleles of FLG, within duplicated repeat 10.2. Mutation E2422X, previously found in a single Dutch patient, was found in one Singaporean IV patient and at a low frequency in Asian population controls. Our study confirms the presence of population-specific as well as recurrent FLG mutations in Singapore