Ethnic differences in the association between blood pressure components and chronic kidney disease in middle aged and older Asian adults

10.1186/1471-2369-14-86BMC Nephrology141

Diffusion tensor imaging of frontal lobe white matter tracts in schizophrenia

We acquired diffusion tensor and structural MRI images on 103 patients with schizophrenia and 41 age-matched normal controls. The vector data was used to trace tracts from a region of interest in the anterior limb of the internal capsule to the prefrontal cortex. Patients with schizophrenia had tract paths that were significantly shorter in length from the center of internal capsule to prefrontal white matter. These tracts, the anterior thalamic radiations, are important in frontal-striatal-thalamic pathways. These results are consistent with findings of smaller size of the anterior limb of the internal capsule in patients with schizophrenia, diffusion tensor anisotropy decreases in frontal white matter in schizophrenia and hypothesized disruption of the frontal-striatal-thalamic pathway system

A vocal health survey among primary school teachers in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Teachers are one of the highest demanding professional voice users. They are believed to have an increased risk of developing voice disorder, and the cause is often associated with several factors such as high vocal demands, unfavourable working conditions, lifestyle, and lack of knowledge in vocal health. Vocal disorder not only affects teachers in conducting and managing classes. It also affects their daily interaction with people and contributes to the decline of their physical and emotional health. This study aims to understand teachers' current vocal condition better and measure teachers' knowledge of vocal care. An online survey was conducted; 40 teachers, 33 females and 7 males, responded to the study. The study reviewed that teachers voice feels dry (51.22%), sore (24.39%) and pain (12.20%) after a day of teaching and 78% of the teachers experience at least once vocal discomfort in a year. In conclusion, the insights and perception of vocal health base on self-report information of voice condition and lifestyle of teachers pertinent to this geographical location will be helpful in the development of vocal health programs for teachers in Malaysia