Awareness, Practice and Intention to Practice Testicular Self-Examination among Professional Working Males in Ghana

Background: The aetiology of Testicular Cancer (TC) is still unknown to researchers but many of the associated risk factors have been identified. These include family history, age, racial origin, cryptorchidism, urogenital malformations, testicular atrophy, and infertility. Given the lack of scientific data on the causes of the disease, it has been asserted in previous studies that the promotion of awareness and early detection are prerequisites to mitigating risks of metastasis as well as improving survival. This study is to assess the awareness, practice, and intention to practice testicular self-examination among professional working males in Accra. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional design with a structured research instrument was used to collect data from respondants. The purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to collect data from 300 men at Accra in Ghana. The study was conducted at two (2) Universities and a Senior High school at Accra in Ghana. The data was then analysed using descriptive statistics, logistic regression, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling. Results: From the study findings, 37% of male participants rated their knowledge of testicular self-examination and related symptoms as good, 28% of participants practised testicular self-examination monthly, while 65% of respondents expressed their intention to practice monthly testicular self-examination. The findings from logistic regression demonstrated that level of education, age, and marital status of participants had a significant influence on testicular self-examination. Additionally, the multiple linear regression results revealed knowledge and self-efficacy significantly predict testicular self-examination intention. The path coefficient results from the structural equation model are consistent with results from the regression models. Conclusion: This research is the first to investigate testicular self-examination among men in Ghana. The findings revealed awareness and practice of TSE are low among participants. Therefore, the research findings would improve the expertise of physicians and nurses in providing counsel, intervention, and support for patients at risk of testicular cancer.

Effectiveness of Histopathological Examination of Ultrasound-guided Puncture Biopsy Samples for Diagnosis of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of histopathological examination of ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy samples in extrapulmonary tuberculosis(EPTB).Methods This study was conducted at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.A total of 115patients underwent ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy,followed by MGIT 960 culture(culture),smear,Gene Xpert MTB/RIF(Xpert),and histopathological examination.These assays were performed to evaluate their effectiveness in diagnosing EPTB in comparison to two different diagnostic criteria:liquid culture and composite reference standard(CRS).Results When CRS was used as the reference standard,the sensitivity and specificity of culture,smear,Xpert,and histopathological examination were(44.83%,89.29%),(51.72%,89.29%),(70.11%,96.43%),and(85.06%,82.14%),respectively.Based on liquid culture tests,the sensitivity and specificity of smear,Xpert,and pathological examination were(66.67%,72.60%),(83.33%,63.01%),and(92.86%,45.21%),respectively.Histopathological examination showed the highest sensitivity but lowest specificity.Further,we found that the combination of Xpert and histopathological examination showed a sensitivity of 90.80%and a specificity of 89.29%.Conclusion Ultrasound-guided puncture sampling is safe and effective for the diagnosis of EPTB.Compared with culture,smear,and Xpert,histopathological examination showed higher sensitivity but lower specificity.The combination of histopathology with Xpert showed the best performance characteristics.

Linear endoscopic ultrasound:Current uses and future perspectives in mediastinal examination

This editorial elaborates on the current and future applications of linear endoscopic ultrasound(EUS),a substantial diagnostic and therapeutic modality for various anatomical regions.The scope of endosonographic assessment is broad and,among other factors,allows for the evaluation of the mediastinal anatomy and related pathologies,such as mediastinal lymphadenopathy and the staging of central malignant lung lesions.Moreover,EUS assessment has proven more accurate in detecting small lesions missed by standard imaging examinations,such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.We focus on its current uses in the mediastinum,including lung and esophageal cancer staging,as well as evaluating mediastinal lymphadenopathy and submucosal lesions.The editorial also explores future perspectives of EUS in mediastinal examination,including ultrasound-guided therapies,artificial intelligence integration,advancements in mediastinal modalities,and improved diagnostic approaches for various mediastinal lesions.

An Empirical Study of the Socratic Method in Nongraded English Teaching in Senior High School Under the Background of the New National College Entrance Examination

With the reform of the New National College Entrance Examination(Gaokao),the nongraded education will become an inevitable trend.In senior high school,the traditional test-oriented education is popular.The knowledge is mainly taught by the teachers,and the students passively absorb it.This study examines a problem-oriented Socratic experiment in nongraded English teaching in senior high school.The teachers seek output from students,who respond by interpreting questions,fostering critical thinking,and enhancing problem-solving skills.This teaching experiment indicates that the Socratic method has a significant positive effect on cultivating nongraded senior high English students’critical thinking under the New National College Entrance Examination.

Profile of Radiological Examinations in the Radiology and Medical Imaging Department of the Medical Clinic “KALALE” in Mali

Introduction: Radiology and medical imaging examinations bring together the means of acquiring and restoring images of the human body from different physical phenomena such as the absorption of X-rays, nuclear magnetic resonance, reflection of ultrasound waves or radioactivity, with which we sometimes associate optical imaging techniques such as endoscopy. The objective of our study was to study the profile of radiological examinations in the radiology and medical imaging department of the “KALALE” medical clinic. Methodology: This was a descriptive, prospective study that took place over a period of six (6) months in the radiology and medical imaging department of the “KALALE” medical clinic and the centers of health of communes III and IV of Bamako in Mali. Data collection was carried out on a survey form. The parameters studied were sociodemographic data, clinical data, radiological data. Results: We recorded 6030 radiology examinations of which 19% of the examination frequency cases came from the “KALALE” medical clinic and 81% of the cases were referrals from the reference health centers of communes III and IV. There were 1500 X-rays or 24.9% of cases including 54% cases of bone X-rays;5% of cases of skull and face X-rays;5% of cases of Intravenous Urography (IVU);4% of cases of Hysterosalpingography (HSG);3% of cases of Retrograde Ureterocystography (UCR) and 1% of cases of X-ray of the Abdomen without preparation (ASP). We found 4530 ultrasounds or 75.1% of cases. Conclusion: Medical imaging has become essential in the study of the human body and now constitutes an essential tool for the detection and treatment of most pathologies, from simple fractures to the most serious tumors.

Improved Mechanism for Detecting Examinations Impersonations in Public Higher Learning Institutions: Case of the Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy (MNMA)

Currently, most public higher learning institutions in Tanzania rely on traditional in-class examinations, requiring students to register and present identification documents for examinations eligibility verification. This system, however, is prone to impersonations due to security vulnerabilities in current students’ verification system. These vulnerabilities include weak authentication, lack of encryption, and inadequate anti-counterfeiting measures. Additionally, advanced printing technologies and online marketplaces which claim to produce convincing fake identification documents make it easy to create convincing fake identity documents. The Improved Mechanism for Detecting Impersonations (IMDIs) system detects impersonations in in-class exams by integrating QR codes and dynamic question generation based on student profiles. It consists of a mobile verification app, built with Flutter and communicating via RESTful APIs, and a web system, developed with Laravel using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The two components communicate through APIs, with MySQL managing the database. The mobile app and web server interact to ensure efficient verification and security during examinations. The implemented IMDIs system was validated by a mobile application which is integrated with a QR codes scanner for capturing codes embedded in student Identity Cards and linking them to a dynamic question generation model. The QG model uses natural language processing (NLP) algorithm and Question Generation (QG) techniques to create dynamic profile questions. Results show that the IMDIs system could generate four challenging profile-based questions within two seconds, allowing the verification of 200 students in 33 minutes by one operator. The IMDIs system also tracks exam-eligible students, aiding in exam attendance and integrates with a Short Message Service (SMS) to report impersonation incidents to a dedicated security officer in real-time. The IMDIs system was tested and found to be 98% secure, 100% convenient, with a 0% false rejection rate and a 2% false acceptance rate, demonstrating its security, reliability, and high performance.

Research on the Evaluation of the Implementation Effect of Curriculum Examination Reform: Taking the Course of “Introduction to Language” as an Example

“Introduction to Language,”as the core course of the English major,mainly reveals the basic laws of language,enabling the students to have the ability to apply linguistic theories to explain language phenomena and solve specific language problems.This course is highly theoretical and has a certain degree of difficulty.The evaluation of student grades has always been based on examination reform,but several problems have been encountered during the implementation process.This article analyzes the current situation of the reform and implementation of the“Introduction to Language”course examination in applied universities and puts forth suggestions and specific measures to improve the assessment of the course,aiming to enhance the teaching effectiveness of the course and scientifically and comprehensively evaluate students’abilities.

Breast Self-Examination (BSE): Association between “Belief in BSE” and “Awareness of BSE” among University Female Students in Uganda

Background: Regular breast self-examination (BSE) has been known to effectively detect breast cancer occurrence early. Are Women who consider BSE effective in detecting breast cancer more likely to be aware of BSE, or vice versa? The present study was an attempt to answer this question. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed for 259 female University students in Kampala, Uganda. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Univariate and bivariate analyses were carried out. Results: The majority (64.1%) were aware of the BSE technique. Women considering BSE to be effective for early cancer detection were significantly more likely to be aware of the BSE technique. Conclusions: University students who believed in the benefits of BSE were more likely to be aware of BSE than those who did not. More emphasis should be placed on health education for women of younger ages to increase the knowledge of the practice of BSE.

ISHD:Intelligent Standing Human Detection of Video Surveillance for the Smart Examination Environment

In the environment of smart examination rooms, it is important to quickly and accurately detect abnormal behavior(human standing) for the construction of a smart campus. Based on deep learning, we propose an intelligentstanding human detection (ISHD) method based on an improved single shot multibox detector to detect thetarget of standing human posture in the scene frame of exam room video surveillance at a specific examinationstage. ISHD combines the MobileNet network in a single shot multibox detector network, improves the posturefeature extractor of a standing person, merges prior knowledge, and introduces transfer learning in the trainingstrategy, which greatly reduces the computation amount, improves the detection accuracy, and reduces the trainingdifficulty. The experiment proves that the model proposed in this paper has a better detection ability for the smalland medium-sized standing human body posture in video test scenes on the EMV-2 dataset.

Contribution of Simulation to the Skills Laboratory for the Learning of Obstetrical Examination in an African Setting with Limited Resources

Objective: To evaluate the interest of the simulation in the learning of the obstetric examination of parturient by medical students. Materials and methods: It was an analytical cross-sectional study that took place from 1 to 28 February 2020 at the Yalgado Ouedraogo Teaching Hospital in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The study population was made up of medical students at the Doctorate II level. The previous experience of the students in the obstetric examination of the parturient, the contribution of the simulation on their feelings and on their skills towards this examination were studied. The Mc Nemar Chi2 test was used to compare percentages on paired samples. Results: The level of difficulty in performing the obstetrical examination in the parturient evolved downwards after the practice of the simulation. The stress level to perform the obstetric exam has been significantly reduced. On the other hand, confidence has increased. The students’ ability to appreciate each of the elements of the obstetric examination studied had improved after the practice of simulation. Conclusion: The simulation in the skills laboratory was a great contribution and the acquisition of models of better fidelity would help to improve the contribution to the confidence building and the acquisition of skills by learners.

A Holistic Approach to Enhance FRCS General Surgery Examination Training Using Adult Learning Model: A Non-Profit Initiative

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of adult learning and simulation-based learning (SBL) on surgical trainees’ learning experiences and Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) Section 2 General Surgery examination pass rate. Methods: This was a cross-sequential study involving 148 surgical candidates (72 UK trainees, 75 non-UK trainees) who had attended our revision course (Phoenix FRCS Course) from June 2017 until 2023. Each course comprised a two-day weekend preparation with dedicated sections for clinical, viva, and academic reading, incorporating SBL as its key learning style. We maintained a prospective database of candidate and course details, examination results, and feedback since the course inception. Results: We found that 97% of candidates passed the FRCS examination after their first attempt. The course was attended once by 89% of candidates, and only 3 of the 148 candidates exhausted all four attempts at the examination. Candidate feedback for the course and its style of learning was positive, with simulation-based table viva sessions and virtual clinical sessions proving the most popular learning sessions (95% and 80% of candidates attending courses run in December 2017, April 2018, and May 2021 rated them “Excellent” respectively). Conclusions: The course is centered around shared adult learning and mindfulness tools to encourage candidates to learn from each other and develop confidence and mastery in all domains of surgical practice. These methods have been shown to be effective in achieving high success rates in the Intercollegiate and International FRCS examinations for UK and overseas surgeons.

The Infection Control Measures Taken in MRI Examination During the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention and Control Period

Objective:To optimize the magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)detection process in view of the COVID-19 pandemic,standardize and strengthen the infection control and management MRI rooms.Methods:According to the Technical Guide for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Medical Institutions(3rd Edition),with reference to the current COVID-19 infection control plan,there are three aspects involved in the planning of MRI examination:MRI room management,medical staff management and protection,and patient management,especially the use of full plastic nose strip medical masks.Infection prevention measures are formulated,scientific prevention and control are made,and accurate policies are implemented.Results:MRI examination was carried out according to the infection control and management of MRI room plan during the epidemic,so as to ensure the safety of examination,the safety of patients and the safety of medical staff and no cross infection in hospital.Conclusion:The implementation of proper infection prevention measures during MRI examination in light of COVID-19 ensures that patients wear medical surgical masks with full plastic nose strips throughout the process to avoid cross-infection,ensure the safety of doctors and patients,and maintain the health of the population.

Archival Examination of the Change in Packaging Materials of Chemical Injections

Based on the deepening awareness of the risk of changing packaging materials of injections,the national regulatory authorities and the China National Pharmaceutical Packaging Association have issued the relevant guidelines and group standards for changing packaging materials in recent years,greatly improving the research and development and technical requirements of packaging materials of injections.In 2021,Guangdong Province carried out the archival examination of the change of listed drugs,among which the proportion of the acceptance of changed injection packaging materials has increased year by year.On the basis of sorting out the archival examination work and combining with the cases of changing packaging materials of chemical injections accepted by Guangdong Province during 2021-2022,the requirements and problems of archival examination were analyzed and discussed to provide a reference and idea for applicants when studying the change in packaging materials.

The IOMT-Based Risk-Free Approach to Lung Disorders Detection from Exhaled Breath Examination

The lungs are the main fundamental part of the human respiratory system and are among the major organs of the human body.Lung disorders,including Coronavirus(Covid-19),are among the world’s deadliest and most life-threatening diseases.Early and social distance-based detection and treatment can save lives as well as protect the rest of humanity.Even though X-rays or Computed Tomography(CT)scans are the imaging techniques to analyze lung-related disorders,medical practitioners still find it challenging to analyze and identify lung cancer from scanned images.unless COVID-19 reaches the lungs,it is unable to be diagnosed.through these modalities.So,the Internet of Medical Things(IoMT)and machine learning-based computer-assisted approaches have been developed and applied to automate these diagnostic procedures.This study also aims at investigating an automated approach for the detection of COVID-19 and lung disorders other than COVID-19 infection in a non-invasive manner at their early stages through the analysis of human breath.Human breath contains several volatile organic compounds,i.e.,water vapor(5.0%–6.3%),nitrogen(79%),oxygen(13.6%–16.0%),carbon dioxide(4.0%–5.3%),argon(1%),hydro-gen(1 ppm)(parts per million),carbon monoxide(1%),proteins(1%),isoprene(1%),acetone(1%),and ammonia(1%).Beyond these limits,the presence of a certain volatile organic compound(VOC)may indicate a disease.The proposed research not only aims to increase the accuracy of lung disorder detection from breath analysis but also to deploy the model in a real-time environment as a home appliance.Different sensors detect VOC;microcontrollers and machine learning models have been used to detect these lung disorders.Overall,the suggested methodology is accurate,efficient,and non-invasive.The proposed method obtained an accuracy of 93.59%,a sensitivity of 89.59%,a specificity of 94.87%,and an AUC-Value of 0.96.

A Cross Sectional Study of the Knowledge and Practice of Self-Breast Examination among Market Women at the Makola Shopping Mall, Accra, Ghana

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide. With an estimated incidence of 1,676,633 with 521,817 deaths in the year 2012, the figure is expected to hit the 82.5 millionth mark by 2015. Breast cancer screening is reported to be extremely low in most low-middle income countries like Ghana. This study was to determine the knowledge and practices of self-breast examination among market women at Makola Shopping Mall in Accra, Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted at the Makola Shopping Mall in Accra among women above the age of 20 years who owned a store and sell at the mall. Data were collected using mixed method involving in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey. Random samples of 170 participants were selected from a population of 400 for the quantitative survey. A total of eight in-depth interviews were conducted to generate qualitative data to complement the survey data. Results: Majority (60%) of the respondents were between the ages of 20 - 40 years. There’s a high literacy rate among the participants. Though awareness of self-breast examination was very high (93%), only 27% practiced self-breast examination in line with the recommended one week period after menses due to lack of knowledge of the basic skills to do self-breast examination. Conclusion: In view of the lack of knowledge resulting in non-performance of self-breast examination, continuous education on breast cancer screening should be given to the women to enable them acquire the skills of performing self-breast examination to promote early detection of the disease.

The Association of Mercury and ALT with Obesity in Korean Adults Using Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 11 Years(KNHANES 2005,2008-2017)

The association between heavy metals in the blood and obesity has been examined in many studies.However,inconsistencies have been observed in the results of these studies.The present study was conducted using data from 119,181 participants of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES)for 11 years in 2005 and between 2008 and 2017.The subjects with missing heavy metal blood tests,health interview data,and health examination data were excluded from the study.The study population comprised 1,844 individuals(972 men,and 872 women)who were eligible for inclusion.It was found that obesity and abdominal obesity were associated with an increase in both blood mercury(P<0.001)and alanine aminotransferase(ALT)(P<0.001).After adjusting the confounding factors,those with concurrent high levels of ALT and the highest tertile of mercury showed an increased risk of obesity(odds ratio 4.46,95%confidence interval 2.23-8.90,P<0.001)as well as abdominal obesity(odds ratio 5.36,95%confidence interval 2.57-11.17,P<0.001).The interrelationship of mercury and ALT with the parameters of body mass index(P for interaction=0.009)and waist circumference(P for interaction=0.012),respectively,have been observed to be significant,suggesting that the reciprocal relationship could contribute to obesity and abdominal obesity.

Analysis on Factors Influencing Sustainable Development of Self-study Examination of Agricultural Science Disciplines

Based on existing problems in the course of development of self-study examination of agricultural science disciplines, this paper analyzes logical conditions for its sustainable development. Major logical conditions include requirement for free and comprehensive development of individuals; requirement for social institutional evolution and change; requirement for fairness and justice of education and development; as well as requirement for better-established organization system and higher social reputation. Finally, it presents basic measures for sustainable development of self-study examination of agricultural science disciplines, including carrying on reasonable core elements of self-study examination system, adjusting structure of discipline, improving social assistance system, and expanding service space.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Breast Self-Examination amongst Women in Two Communities of Cameroon

Breast cancer is a major health problem in the world. It is the most common cancer in women and is equally the leading cause of cancer death in women. Though in controversy Breast self-examination (BSE) remains a useful tool in early diagnosis of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of BSE amongst women in Yaoundé and Monatele. We carried out a cross sectional study in two communities of Cameron over a period of eight months, targeting females older than 15 years. After obtaining authorization, we randomly interviewed 402 consenting participants, using a pretested questionnaire. Data were entered using CS Pro 7.3 and analysed using SPSS 23. Of a total of 402 participants, 256 (63.7%) in Monatele and 146 (36.3%) in Yaoundé VI, the mean age was 26.55 ± 9.57 years. Exactly 50% (201) had earlier heard of BSE. Health personnel and media represented the main sources of information on BSE. Of the total, 46 (11.4%) knew BSE should be done monthly. Fifty-three percent had poor knowledge and 51.0% had a generally low attitude towards BSE. Out of 402 participants, 65.2% reported not practicing BSE. For those practicing, 71.6% had poor practices. The main reason for not practicing was lack of knowledge. Poor knowledge increased poor practice. In conclusion half of the women had heard about BSE even though the majority had a poor knowledge on BSE and very low overall attitude and practice. Health personnel and media played a key role in passing of information. Increasing the number of health campaigns, multiplying TV shows and health talks about breast self-examination will improve knowledge and hence attitude and practice.

On the Current Status and Future of Self-Taught Higher Education Examination

As one of the major innovations of China's higher education system,the self-taught examination system has made brilliant achievements in its decades of development and has nurtured a large number of high-quality talents for the country and society.However,with the development of the times,various forms of higher education are emerging,which has had a great impact on self-taught exams.Some problems of self-taught exams have been exposed.Solutions to solving these problems have become the key to promoting the healthy and sustainable development of higher education self-taught exams.

Women’s Performance of Breast Cancer Screening (Breast Self-Examination, Clinical Breast Exam and Mammography)

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Saudi Arabia. Despite the availability of early detection methods to diagnose breast cancer, a huge number of women are still unaware about these methods. This study was conducted to identify the attitude of women in Medina toward breast cancer screening methods, including breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional survey has been conducted on 124 women aged from 39 and older, who attended Taibah Medical Center for cancer screening either by doctor’s recommendation, family or friends advice, or by herself. Face to face questionnaire was used to collect data. All data were analyzed by statistical analysis system software. Results: The results showed only 35.5%, 27.4% and 37.8% of participants reported that they practiced BSE, CBE and annual mammography, respectively. Only 27.3% of women practiced BSE once per month, and 8.8% visited doctor annually for CBE. Both educational level (p = 0.004) and family history (p = 0.01) were significantly related to BSE. 57.7% of the participants who had positive family history practiced BSE, and 56.0% of the participants who practiced BSE were highly educated. Lacking awareness about BSE is the most important barrier in not practicing BSE, while not having a breast lump was the reason for not undergoing either clinical breast examination (38.7%) or periodic mammography (54.9%). Conclusion: This study emphasized the need for massive health education program to increase awareness, and improve the attitude of women toward breast cancer screening methods.