Prospective study of the prevalence and co-morbidities of obstructive sleep apnea in active-duty army personnel in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand using questionnaire screening

Background: It is crucial for the army to know the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) syndrome in activeduty army personnel. Little information has been reported on the prevalence of OSA and clinical features in activeduty army personnel. This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of snoring and risk of developing OSA in activeduty army personnel in Thailand and to identify the co-morbidities of OSA. In total, 1107 participants who were aged20–60 years and were deployed to the three southernmost provinces of Thailand were enrolled. All the participants completed the Phramongkutklao(PMK) Hospital OSA Questionnaire that was modified and validated from the Berlin Questionnaire and underwent physical examination. The participants were 1107 active-duty army personnel in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand, both males and females, aged 20–60 years.Methods: The PMK OSA Questionnaire was used to assess the risk of OSA together with interviewing for snoring,fatigue, falling asleep and day-time sleepiness. Physical examination of the neck, chest and hip circumference,and height was performed. Information concerning physical training, co-morbid diseases, smoking and alcoholic consumption was collected.Results: The prevalence of snoring was 58.5, and 4.8% met the PMK OSA Questionnaire criteria, thus indicating a high risk of OSA. The information obtained indicated that laryngopharyngeal reflux(LPR), current smoking and alcoholic consumption were significantly higher in the high-risk OSA group.Conclusions: Early detection and treatment of OSA in active-duty army personnel are imperative. Physical examination and polysomnography can be used to reveal the high-risk group. High body mess index(BMI), laryngopharyngeal reflux, current smoking and alcoholic consumption are modifiable factors for OSA and are avoidable. A policy to decrease the BMI and risk of LPR, as well as to stop smoking and alcoholic consumption, should be applied.

Comparison of Antioxidant Status between Pilots and Non-flight Staff of the Army Force: Pilots May Need More Vitamin C

Objective To compare the blood antioxidant levels and dietary antioxidant intakes between pilots and non-flight staff of the Army Force in The Islamic Republic of Iran. Methods Thirty-seven helicopter pilots and 40 non-flight staff were included in this study. Their general characteristics were recorded and their weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. Their daily intake of energy and nutrients including antioxidants was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Serum levels of total antioxidant capacity （TAC）, malondialdehyde （MDA）, and glutathione reductase （GR）, glutathione peroxidase （GPx）, superoxide dismutase （SOD）, and catalase （CAT） in red blood cells were also measured. Results The median erythrocytes SOD, serum MDA level and the mean serum level of TAC and erythrocytes GPx were significantly higher in pilots than in non-flight staff. The median vitamin C intake was significantly lower in pilots than in non-flight staff. The serum MDA levels were similar in non-flight staff and pilots when their vitamin C intake was 〈168 mg and significantly lower in non-flight staff than in pilots when their vitamin C intake was 〉168 mg. Conclusion The serum MDA level is lower in non-flight staff than in pilots when their vitamin C intake level is high, indicating that pilots need more vitamin C than non-flight staff.

Effects of fluoride on growth and reproduction of the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker)

This paper deals with effects of airborne fluorine on the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker), by rearing the larvae on the wheat foliage exposed to HF or fumigating the larvae on the artificial diet with the pollutant. Larval relative growth rate (GR) and index of population trend of the insect reduced by 5% and 11%, respectively, when the larvae were reared on the foliage taken from the wheat plants exposed to 0.87 g·dm-2·day-1 of fluorine compared with those of the control. An extra instar appeared in a majority of the larvae treated. Survival rate and GR of the larvae on the wheat plant being exposure to the same concentration of fluorine in field open-top fumigation device were 40% and 15% lower than that of the control, respectively. Similar experiment with the insect on the artificial diet also showed that direct impact of the pollutant on the army worm was greater than its indirect effect via their host plant.

Effects of temperature on population growth and intake of food by the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker)

Population life tables of the army worm, Mythimna separata, were constructed and nutritional parameters of food for the larvae were examined at 5 temperatures from 16℃ to 32℃. The temperature suitable for growth and reproduction of the insect ranged from 20℃ to 28℃ with the optimum of 24℃. Their survivalship and fecundity were much poorer at 32℃ than at 16℃. Indices of population trend of the insect at these temperatures could well fitted with the parabolic curve which theoretically indicated that the population density would multiply by some 660 after one generation circle at the optimal temperature, 22.6℃, and it would decline at temperatures higher than 32.9℃ or lower than 12.3℃. Larval food intake and their AD tended to go up while their ECI and ECD to go down with a rise in temperature. These alterations in population size and feeding behavior caused by temperature would exert an important effect on their damage to crops.

Secondary effect of SO_2 pollution: enhanced growth of the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker)

Effects of SO2 pollution on growth of the army worm, Mythimna separata, were investigated by rearing the larvae for 12 days on the wheat plants being exposed to SO2 levels ranged from 50 to 200 ppb in the field open-top fumigation devices. Larval period shortened while their mean relative growth rate (MRGR) increased as SO2 dose elevated. Similar experiment with the insect on the artificial diet excluded the possibility that SO2 pollution directly stimulated growth of the army worm.The patterns of change in amino acid hydrolysates in the host foliage suggested that contents of methionine, and perhaps, arginine in food material exposed to unpolluted air were at such levels that they could only support sub-optimum growth of the insect, and SO2 pollution increased concentrations of these limiting amino acids, resulting in better performance of the larvae.

Prescription of intermittent preventive therapy (IPTp) among doctors practicing in an army hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Malaria infestation in pregnancy is a major public health concern and ranks amongst the commonest complications of pregnancy in Nigeria. Approximately 50,000 Nigerian women die each year from largely preventable pregnancy related complications. Intermittent preventive therapy for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is a key recommendation in the National guideline for malaria treatment in Nigeria. This study assessed the prescription pattern of intermittent preventive therapy with Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine for pregnant women among doctors practicing in 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: This was a retrospective study using case notes of pregnant women seen at antenatal clinic of 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria from January, 2008 to December, 2008. A total of 336 case notes were reviewed. The findings were precoded, data entry and analysis was done using EPI INFO 2002. Results: A good proportion of the women (82.9%) booked for antenatal clinic within the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Most commonly prescribed by doctors was the weekly pyrimethamine (daraprim) for malaria prophylaxis in pregnancy (100.0%). Very few doctors prescribed intermittent preventive therapy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, and the few who did prescribed just one dose. Conclusion: The study showed a very low level of prescription of IPTp among doctors practicing at 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. There is a great need for training of these doctors and other health professionals on the recommendations of the current National Antimalarial Treatment Guidelines.

Unsatisfactory Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Leptospirosis among Army Personnel’s in Northeastern Malaysia

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease caused by infection of the bacteria belongs to Genus leptospira. It occurs in tropical, subtropical and temperate zones. It is also known as occupational-related disease as certain occupations are associated with the occurrence of leptospirosis. Army is identified as one of the high-risk occupations in contracting leptospirosis. This study was done to determine knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among army personnel on leptospirosis. A cross sectional study was conducted among 616 army personnel in four based camps in Northeastern Malaysia, who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A validated KAP questionnaire was used, consisting of knowledge, attitude and practice questions. More than half (52.8%) of the respondents had poor knowledge score. For the attitude score, almost the same proportions had satisfactory attitude. The same finding was seen in practice score, whereby those with good practice (54.9%) and bad practice (45.9%). In conclusion, the finding showed that almost all army personnel had unsatisfactory KAP, thus, it is recommended for the army to have a good health education program on leptospirosis among army personnel to protect the army personnel from risk of getting leptospirosis.

Utilization of the current national antimalarial treatment guidelines among doctors in army hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction: Human malaria infection remains a problem of public health importance in many regions of the world. The infection continues to spread particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, malaria and its treatment have been affected by factors like wrong diagnosis, wrong attitude of the people, unavailability of drugs, fake and substandard drugs, attitude and practices of medical and paramedical personnel. Nigeria’s national standard for malaria treatment was recently changed to artemisinin combination therapy. Methods: A descriptive study using a structured questionnaire was administered to all doctors (123) practicing in the three Army hospitals in Lagos. The study was done between March, 2009 and April, 2009. The findings were precoded;data entry and analysis was done using EPI INFO version 3.5.1 statistical software. Results: Presumptive/clinical diagnosis was still a common practice for diagnosing malaria among doctors, as well as the use of microscopy. None of the doctors had the facility for diagnosing malaria with rapid diagnostic test in their hospitals. Fifty one percent of the doctors stated that they utilized the current National antimalarial treatment guidelines. Significant proportion of the doctors used Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACTs) as first line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in adults and children. Chloroquine was the commonest drug for first line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in pregnancy. Only 45.5% of the doctors had correct knowledge of Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), while 33.3% knew the stage of pregnancy in which a pregnant woman should receive IPTp with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. Awareness and the content of knowledge of the current National antimalarial treatment guideline were not affected by the category or current position of the doctors. Thirteen percent of the respondents had attended training/update workshop organized by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) Roll Back Malaria programme on the current National antimalarial treatment guideline. Conclusion: The study showed that there is need to improve use of recommended antimalarial medicines for all categories of patients by doctors in Army Hospitals in Lagos. More effort should be made by the Federal Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to organize training and refresher courses on the current National antimalarial treatment guidelines for all categories of health care providers.

Seroprevalence of Leptospirosis among Army Personnel in Northeastern Malaysia

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira. The disease affects various high-risk groups including army personnel, who are at risk because of field activities that bring them into close contact with zoonotic reservoirs. This cross-sectional study determined the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among 616 asymptomatic army personnel in Northeastern Malaysia. Sociodemographic data were obtained using validated questionnaires. Serological screening for leptospirosis was performed using an ELISA method and confirmed by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Samples indeterminate and positive according to ELISA (n = 117) were sent for MAT testing. A MAT titer ≥ 100 was considered positive evidence of exposure to leptospirosis. The overall seroprevalence of leptospirosis among the subjects was 16.2% (95% confidence interval: 13.32, 19.15). The most common reaction obtained with the sera tested by MAT was against a strain of Leptospira spp. isolated from Terengganu (38.3%) followed by L. biflexa serovar Patoc (35.2%). In conclusion, the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among army personnel in Northeastern Malaysia is high.

The Impact of Leptospirosis Health Education Module (LHEM) on Changes of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among Army Personnel in Northeastern Malaysia

Community-based interventions in prevention and control of leptospirosis, have been uniformly unsuccessful. Individual counseling and health education play an important role in the prevention and control of the disease. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of intervention on the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) score on leptospirosis among the army personnel after receiving a health education given. A validated questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitude and practice at pre- and post-intervention. A total of 188 army personnel from the two camps involved in this study with 94 respondents in control and intervention groups respectively. Leptospirosis Health Education Module (LHEM) was given to the intervention group. There was significant improvement in knowledge score before and after intervention done (mean difference = 24.25, 95% CI: 21.93, 26.56;p &#8722;14.13, 95% CI: &#8722;15.82, &#8722;12.45;p &#8722;0.72, 1.55;p > 0.05). For the intervention effect, the subjects in intervention group had significantly higher mean attitude score as compared to the subjects in control group (mean difference = &#8722;2.12, 95% CI: &#8722;2.99, &#8722;1.24;p &#8722;0.47, 1.98;p > 0.05). For the intervention effect regardless of time, the subjects in intervention group had significantly higher mean practice score as compared to the subjects in control group (mean difference = 4.16, 95% CI: 2.80, 5.52;p < 0.001). The leptospirosis health education module was found to cause improvement in KAP score in the intervention group.

Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army

+Source Journal for Chinese Scientific and Technical Papers and Citations+Core Journal of Chinese Synthetic Medical Periodicals+Source Journal of Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD)Medical Journal of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Med J Chin PLA) is published by the People’s Military Medical Press, under the auspices of Directorate of Medical Services.

Results and analysis:a pilot study on quality of life of soldiers in the first response army

Objective： To explore the fundamental theory, methods and data of the quality of life （QOL） of soldiers and its influence factors in the first response army. Methods： Totally 215 soldiers in the first response army of a military area in China were inquired by using self-regulating questionnaire and WHOQOL-BREF （Chinese Edition）. Resalts： WHOQOL-BREF had good acceptability, reliability and validity in the first response army. QOL of soldiers in the first response army was middling. The influencing factors of QOL of the soldiers in first army includes self-report health, different areas where the army men come from, different arms of services, whether only child in family. And the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion： WHOQOL-BREF is fit for evaluating the quality of life of soldiers in the first response army. There are differences of the quality of life among the soldiers in the first response army. So we should take appropriate measures to improve the soldiers＇ quality of life.

A Study on"Fengqiao Experience"from the Perspective of People's Livelihood

The"Fengqiao Experience"has risen from the"local experience"in the early days to the"national experience"now.Although it has gone through twists and turns,it is full of exuberant and strong vitality.Fengqiao Experience is the experience of grass-roots mass governance based on people's livelihood and other factors,so this paper studies the challenges faced by the application of"Fengqiao Experience"and the internal relationship between the experience and people's livelihood from the perspective of people's livelihood and summarizes the realization path of carrying forward the"Fengqiao Experience"from the perspective of people's livelihood.Strengthening the construction of grass-roots Party organizations,taking the mass line and implementing autonomy,rule by virtue and rule by law are the ways to carry forward the"Fengqiao Experience"in the new era,which has certain guiding significance for reality.

Three Great Reformers of the Roman Army

Rome was famous because of its strong military force and it dominate the Mediterranean Sea.However,it was facing severe shortage of soldiers for a long time during 150 BCE.This problem had enormously effect on the Roman society and political life such as the appearance of slavery in Rome and the use of violence in Rome.The reasons why Rome had shortage f soldiers were related to its own military system and political system.The three great reformers,Tiberius Gracchus,Caius Gracchus and Caius Marius tried their best to solve the problem.Gracchus brothers failed but Marius succeed.Experiences we can learn from these reforms will also be mentioned.

Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Aims andscope of the Journal .Medical Journal of Chinese People’s Liberation Army ( Med J Chin PLA) is a multiple-subjects medical periodical publishedby the People’s Military Medical Press,under the auspice of Department of Health, General Logistics Department of PLA,andit

The application of the MOOCs postgraduate education in the army

MOOCs as a new kind ofordine teaching mode worldwide at breakneck speed. This paper analyzes the development and advantages of MOOCs, to draw lessons fi＇om the successful experience of the MOOCs, build conform to the demand of our colleges and universities graduate education MOOCs platforrr~ promote excellent education experts in the army,high-quality teaching resource sharing, to promote the teaching idea transformation,teaching content update and the teaching method reform, improve the quality of military high-level talent cultivation.

An Analysis of the Festivals and Holidays Celebrated by the Red Army During the Long March

The Long March of the Chinese Workers’and Peasants’Red Army is hailed as the“Red Ribbon on the Earth.”The Long March was characterized by revolutionary heroism and,at the same time,was no lack of revolutionary romanticism.This arduous journey also presented two difficult questions:whether to celebrate festivals and holidays or not and whether to celebrate them simply or grandly.By exploring such trade-offs,we can appreciate a strong sense of national identity among the Red Army soldiers as idealists,grasp more historical details of the world-shattering Long March,and feel the resilience and greatness of the Chinese nation.