Introduction: Smoking is a well-known cause of oral disease and oral cancer. Several dysplastic cytological changes occur before the appearance of the clinical lesion. This study aimed to investigate the cytopathological effects of smoking in clinically normal oral mucosa of cigarette smokers.
Materials and Methods: A total of 40 cigarette smokers and 40 nonsmokers (control group) were included in this study. All participants had clinically normal oral mucosa. Oral smears were obtained from the side of the tongue and floor of the mouth using a Cytobrush. The smears were stained by Papanicolaou stain and examined under light microscope for inflammation, hyperkeratinization and dysplasia.
Results: There was a significantly higher rate(p<0.005) of inflammation 63%, hyperkeratiniztion 62% and mild dysplasia 26% among smokers than non-smokers where the rates were 35%, 12% and 2% respectively.
Conclusion: Smoking causes significant cytopathological changes in normal oral mucosa, the detection of which is important to prevent progression into carcinoma. The procedure is fast, painless and inexpensive.
KEYWORDS: Papanicolaou stain, brush biopsy, cigarette smokers, dysplasia, oral mucosa
Cr0ss»sectional studies on lung functions of 100 smokers and 100 non-smokers was conducted among a university student population. The objectives of the studies were to determine the correlation between the lung functions with smoking frequency and duration among smokers as well as to compare the lung functions with non-smokers. The smokers’ mean age was 20.74 years, their smoking initiation age was 16.18 years, the smoking duration was 4.41 years and the smoking frequency was 8.72 cigarettes per day. Among smokers, signqicant inverse correlation was shown between FEV] predicted and the smoking frequency (number of cigarette per day) (ri-0.241, p=0.016). Multiple regression confirmed the relationship between FEV]% predicted with respondent’s age (p=0.013) and smoking frequency (p=0.002), FVC% predicted with age (p=0.005) and smoking frequency (p=0.009). The FEV;/FVC% predicted was signyicantly related to phlegm symptoms (p=0.03), while the FEFZ5.y5% predicted was signdicantly related to age (p=0.005), height (p=0.043) and smoking duration (p=0.046). The lung functions (FEV1% predicted, FVC% predicted and FEV]/FVC% predicted ) for smokers were not statistically dyferent from non-smokers. This study showed that the lung functions for the smokers were still quite normal due to their short smoking duration, their low number of cigarette smoked per day and their young age.
Situated learning characterises the learning that takes place in the clinical environment. Learning in the workplace is characterised by transferring classroom knowledge into performing tasks and this may take various forms. In the medical education field, the cognitive apprenticeship instructional model developed by Collins (2016) supported this learning in the workplace setting due to its common characteristics of apprenticeship. This paper analysed two concrete learning situations in a Malaysian undergraduate and an Omani postgraduate learning environment. Both learning situations occurred in the primary healthcare outpatient setting. The cognitive apprenticeship model was used to identify characteristics of the individual learning environments and discusses factors that stimulate learning. Attention was paid to the role of reflection in stimulating learning in the described settings. The paper provided the context in both institutes, described the learning situation and provided an analysis based on the theoretical framework. Based on the analysis of the situations, solutions to problems in the two settings were suggested.
A double-antibody radioimmunoassay technique has been used to investigate the serum prolactin (hPRL) level in Malay females from premenarche to the postmenopause. The results showed that the hPRL level (mena ± SEM) in the premenarchal, postmenarchal and late pubertal/reproductive subjects were 23.6 ± 2.3, 19.1 ± 2.0 and 22.7 ± 1.9 ng/ml respectively. In premenopausal women, hPRL level (11.8 ± 2.4 ng/ml) was significantly reduced (p < 0.01) compared to that of late pubertal group; the level declined even further after menopause (9.5 ± 1.7 ng/ml). Although the difference in the mean prolactin levels between premenopause and postmenopause were not significant, 73% of the postmenopausal women had serum prolactin concentrations below 10 ng/ml compared to 44% of the premenopausal and 10% in late pubertal group.