ChatGPT for Academic Purposes: Survey Among Undergraduate Healthcare Students in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: The impact of generative artificial intelligence-based Chatbots on medical education, particularly in Southeast Asia, is understudied regarding healthcare students' perceptions of its academic utility. Sociodemographic profiles and educational strategies influence prospective healthcare practitioners' attitudes toward AI tools. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess healthcare university students' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding ChatGPT for academic purposes. It explored chatbot usage frequency, purposes, satisfaction levels, and associations between age, gender, and ChatGPT variables. METHODOLOGY: Four hundred forty-three undergraduate students at a Malaysian tertiary healthcare institute participated, revealing varying awareness levels of ChatGPT's academic utility. Despite concerns about accuracy, ethics, and dependency, participants generally held positive attitudes toward ChatGPT in academics. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression highlighted associations between demographics, knowledge, attitude, and academic ChatGPT use. MBBS students were significantly more likely to use ChatGPT for academics than BDS and FIS students. Final-year students exhibited the highest likelihood of academic ChatGPT use. Higher knowledge and positive attitudes correlated with increased academic usage. Most users (45.8%) employed ChatGPT to aid specific assignment sections while completing most work independently. Some did not use it (41.1%), while others heavily relied on it (9.3%). Users also employed it for various purposes, from generating questions to understanding concepts. Thematic analysis of responses showed students' concerns about data accuracy, plagiarism, ethical issues, and dependency on ChatGPT for academic tasks. CONCLUSION: This study aids in creating guidelines for implementing GAI chatbots in healthcare education, emphasizing benefits, and risks, and informing AI developers and educators about ChatGPT's potential in academia.

Heutagogy through Facebook for the Millennial learners.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Millennials are the most prevalent generation of medical learners today. These individuals have a unique outlook on education and have different preferences and expectations than their predecessors. The majority of our learners belong to the Millennial Generation, while most faculty belongs to the Baby Boomer or Generation X cohorts. Millennial learners have distinct perspectives on their learning needs that differ with their faculty's perspectives on teaching and learning. These learning differences may contribute to intergenerational conflict. In order to be successful teachers, it is important to educate ourselves on these generational differences and cater to the needs of the learners. Heutagogy is a self-determined approach of learning, which appears to suit the millennial learners. Derived from the word " Heureskein" which means to discover, the term heutagogy was coined to describe self-learning, independent of formal teaching. This adds yet another learning theory to the established fields of pedagogy (child learning) and andragogy (adult learning). Heutagogy acknowledges that learner do immensely valuable work for themselves by filling in the gaps of their formal education through discovery and reflection. Heutagogy offers models of learning that are (1) self-determined, (2) peer-led, and (3) non-linear. These characteristics map onto social media applications and the democratization of knowledge and information. Heutagogical approach is an extension of the traditional andragogical and adult learning frameworks through its emphasis on meta learning, or learning how to learn. This article presents the paradigm shift of educational strategies from pedagogy to andragogy to heutagogy and focuses on the ground principles governing heutagogy. It also describes an innovative case study where principles of heutagogy were applied to train dental students using Facebook.

Inheritance pattern of lip prints among Malay population: A pilot study.

UNLABELLED: We assessed the resemblance of lip print patterns between parents and biological offspring in families of 31 Malay students as well as the distribution of different types of lip print in the study group. Only a few studies have successfully established the inheritance pattern of lip prints. Such studies can be population specific and need to be conducted in various populations. No such study have been conducted in Malay population in Malaysia, according to our knowledge. Present study was carried out to ascertain whether there is any inherence pattern in lip prints and thereby to investigate the potential role of lip prints in personal identification. We found 58.06% resemblance of lip print patterns between the parents and their biological offspring in our study. The influence of heredity in lip print pattern is still a new concept and there is lack of concrete evidence. The data from our study shows that there is potential influence of inheritance in the lip print patterns among the family members. Further researches involving larger samples size are suggested to derive more reliable and accurate results. The most common lip print pattern among the study group is type I (29.84%) followed by type II (23.12%), type III (22.45%), type I' (13.44%), type IV (9.54%) and type V (1.61%). Racial variations in lip print patterns and their prevalence may serve as an aid in forensic identification and crime scene investigation. The results of this pilot study will help in establishing guidelines for future researches on lip print analysis in Malaysia. CONTEXT: Lip print patterns are unique and individualistic. However, there are some similarities in basic patterns of lip prints between family members which may be attributed to influence of inheritance. AIMS: 1. To determine the inheritance pattern of lip prints among Malay family members of the student. 2. To identify the distribution of different types of lip prints among Malay population. SETTINGS: and DESIGN: Observational pilot study. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Lip prints of 124 individuals from 31 families consisting of father, mother and two children were recorded and classified based on Tsuchihashi Classification (1974). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical analysis was performed for resemblance pattern among family members (Karl-Pearson Correlation Coefficient) and inter-observer variability (Kappa test). RESULTS: 58.06% positive resemblance was found between parents and biological offspring. The highest lip print pattern in the study group was type I (29.84%) and the least was type V (1.61%). CONCLUSIONS: There is positive resemblance in lip print patterns among family members which may be attributed to influence of inheritance. However, further studies with larger sample sizes need to be conducted to confirm the results. Type I lip print was the most prevalent pattern among the study subjects.

Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in patients with type 2 diabetes attending hospital universiti sains malaysia.

OBJECTIVES: Diabetes mellitus is associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain oral mucosal disorders. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions (OMLs) in patients with type 2 diabetes (DM2) and to investigate the association of such lesions with metabolic control of the disease. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 391 patients with DM2 and 391 non-diabetic control subjects. Demographic information and data on the duration and type of diabetes, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values, medical history, and current use of medication were obtained from medical records. Detailed oral examination was performed in accordance with international criteria. RESULTS: The prevalence of OMLs was significantly higher among diabetic patients (45.5%) than among control subjects (38.4%) (P = 0.042). Patients with diabetes had a higher prevalence of geographic tongue (GT) (P = 0.017), denture stomatitis (P = 0.018), and angular cheilitis (P = 0.006) than controls. Overall, diabetic patients with poor metabolic control had a significantly higher prevalence of OMLs and xerostomia than patients with moderately and well-controlled disease (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of OMLs was significantly higher in diabetic patients than in control subjects. Higher occurrence of OMLs was significantly associated with poor metabolic control.

Orthodontic treatment need and demand among 12- and 16 year-old school children in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: Assessment of orthodontic treatment need and demand helps in planning orthodontic services and estimating the required resources and man power. The aim of this study was to assess the orthodontic treatment need and demand and to assess the association between the orthodontic treatment demand and factors such as ITON, gender, and age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Treatment need was assessed using the DHC and AC of IOTN among 12- and 16-year-old Malay school children. The treatment demand was also assessed through a modified health questionnaire and its association with IOTN, age, and gender. A total number of 837 Malay school children were randomly recruited (389 males and 448 females divided into two age groups; 12-year olds; and 16-year olds). RESULTS: Findings showed that 51.4% of 12-year-old school children had definite need for treatment (DHC>4) while 22% of them desired treatment. Among 16-year-old subjects, 56.4% showed definite need for treatment while 47.2% desired treatment. The 16-year-old group was more interested in orthodontic treatment than the 12-year-old group (P<0.001). Only age was associated with treatment demand while gender had no effect (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: There is a high level of need for treatment among Malay school children which was not associated with orthodontic demand. Age was associated with orthodontic demand.

In vitro cytotoxic evaluation of processed natural coral in human osteoblasts.

This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic effects of locally produced processed natural coral (PNC) using human osteoblasts (HOS). Cytotoxicity was not observed when HOS cells were cultured with PNC, as assessed by (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2-5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide; MTT) and Neutral Red (NR) assays at concentration up 200 mg/mL for up to 72 hours. Flow cytometry (FCM) analysis showed that PNC (200 mg/mL) did not decrease viability of HOS cells after 48 and 72 hours of treatment. In a cell attachment study, the HOS cells attached to the edge of the PNC disc, and later grew into the pores of the PNC disc. All results from these studies indicate that locally produced PNC material is noncytotoxic and favors the growth of HOS cells.

Significant association of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) but not of p53 polymorphisms with oral squamous cell carcinomas in Malaysia.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of HPV and p53 polymorphisms in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) affecting Malaysian population. METHODS: We analysed frozen samples from 105 OSCC as well as 105 oral specimens derived from healthy individuals. PCR assays targeting two regions of the virus were used. PCR amplification for the analysis of p53 codon 72 arginine/proline alleles was carried out in a separate reaction. RESULTS: HPV DNA was detected in 51.4% OSCC samples, while 24.8% controls were found to be HPV positive. HPV was found to be significantly associated with OSCC (P < 0.001, OR = 4.3 after adjustment for habits) when compared to controls. High-risk HPV was found to be significantly associated with OSCC cases (P < 0.05). Demographic profiles of age, gender, race and habits were not associated with HPV presence in cases and controls. However, significantly less HPV positivity was seen in poorly differentiated compared to well-differentiated OSCCs. No significant association was found between HPV positivity and p53 polymorphisms in cases and control groups. Additionally, we found no association of codon 72 polymorphism with oral cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that high-risk HPV infection is one of the contributing factors for OSCCs. HPV 16 was the predominant type found in Malaysian patients with OSCC. Further, we did not find any association between p53 codon 72 polymorphism and HPV infection or between the p53 polymorphism and the risk of oral cancer.

Oral mucosal lesions in non oral habit diabetic patients and association of diabetes mellitus with oral precancerous lesions.

AIMS: This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions (OML) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and non-diabetic subjects without any oral habits and to investigate the association of DM with oral precancerous lesions. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 420 diabetic and 420 non-diabetic control subjects without any oral habits. Detailed oral examination was performed based on international criteria. RESULTS: A significantly greater proportion of subjects with DM (45%) had one or more OML in comparison to non-diabetics (38.3%). Patients with DM showed a significantly greater prevalence of geographic tongue, denture stomatitis and angular cheilitis than non-diabetics (p<0.05). The results also showed an association between occurrence of one or more OML and metabolic control of diabetic patients (p<0.05). For precancerous lesions, lichen planus was found in two diabetic patients while none of controls had any precancerous lesion (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of OML was significantly higher in diabetic patients than non-diabetics and this prevalence was associated with the metabolic control of the patients. However, no association was observed between DM and oral precancerous lesions.

Building partnership in oral cancer research in a developing country: processes and barriers.

BACKGROUND: The rising burden of cancer in the developing world calls for a re-evaluation of the treatment strategies employed to improve patient management, early detection and understanding of the disease. There is thus an increasing demand for interdisciplinary research that integrates two or more disciplines of what may seemed to be highly unrelated and yet very much needed as strategies for success in research. This paper presents the processes and barriers faced in building partnerships in oral cancer research in a developing country. METHODS: A case study was undertaken in a developing country (Malaysia) to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the situation leading to the formation of a multidisciplinary research partnership in oral cancer. Following the formalization of the partnership, further evaluation was undertaken to identify measures that can assist in sustaining the partnership. RESULTS: The group identifies its strength as the existence of academia, research-intensive NGOs and good networking of clinicians via the existence of the government's network of healthcare provider system who are the policy makers. The major weaknesses identified are the competing interest between academia and NGOs to justify their existence due to the lack of funding sources and well trained human resources. CONCLUSIONS: With the growing partnership, the collaborative group recognizes the need to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines for the sharing and usage of resources in order to safeguard the interest of the original partners while also attending to the needs of the new partners.

Genotoxicity evaluation of locally produced dental porcelain--an in vitro study using the Ames and Comet assays.

The aim of this study was to determine the genotoxicity of a locally produced dental porcelain (Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia) using the Ames and Comet assays. In the Ames assay, four genotypic variants of the Salmonella strains (TA98, TA100, TA1537 and TA1535) carrying mutations in several genes were used. The dental porcelain was incubated with these four strains in five different doses both in the presence and absence of metabolic activation (S9) and the result was assessed based on the number of revertant colonies. Concurrently, appropriate positive controls were used so as to validate the test. The average number of revertant colonies per plate treated with locally produced dental porcelain was less than double as compared to that of negative control. In the Comet assay, L929 (CCL-1 ATCC, USA) mouse fibroblast cells were treated with the dental porcelain in three different concentrations along with concurrent negative and positive controls. The tail moment which was used as a measurement of DNA damage was almost equal to that of the negative control, suggesting that the locally produced dental porcelain did not induce any DNA damage. The results indicated that the locally produced dental porcelain is non-genotoxic under the present test conditions.

Evaluation of a training programme for non-health professionals as oral health educators.

Involvement of oral health educators among non-health professionals in oral health promotion is important in the prevention of oral diseases. This study was carried out to compare the level of oral health knowledge among pre-school teachers before and after oral health seminar. Pre-test data was collected by distributing questionnaire to pre-school teachers in Pasir Mas, who attended the seminar on "Oral Health" (n=33) and they were required to fill anonymously before the seminar started. The questions consisted of information on general background, perceived oral health status, oral health knowledge and the environment where they work. After two weeks, post-test data was collected using the same structured questionnaire and identification code was used to match the pre and post data. SPSS 11.5 was use for statistical analysis. Two out of 33 eligible preschool teachers were considered non-respondents due to absenteeism during the post-test data collection. The response rate was 94.0% (n = 31). The study shows a significant improvement in oral health knowledge among pre-school teachers in Pasir Mas, after seminar (p < 0.001) as compared to controls. Thus, we can conclude that the oral health programme (seminar) appeared effective at influencing oral health educator's knowledge towards oral health.

Tooth wear prevalence and sample size determination : a pilot study.

Tooth wear is the non-carious loss of tooth tissue, which results from three processes namely attrition, erosion and abrasion. These can occur in isolation or simultaneously. Very mild tooth wear is a physiological effect of aging. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of tooth wear among 16-year old Malay school children and determine a feasible sample size for further study. Fifty-five subjects were examined clinically, followed by the completion of self-administered questionnaires. Questionnaires consisted of socio-demographic and associated variables for tooth wear obtained from the literature. The Smith and Knight tooth wear index was used to chart tooth wear. Other oral findings were recorded using the WHO criteria. A software programme was used to determine pathological tooth wear. About equal ratio of male to female were involved. It was found that 18.2% of subjects have no tooth wear, 63.6% had very mild tooth wear, 10.9% mild tooth wear, 5.5% moderate tooth wear and 1.8 % severe tooth wear. In conclusion 18.2% of subjects were deemed to have pathological tooth wear (mild, moderate & severe). Exploration with all associated variables gave a sample size ranging from 560 - 1715. The final sample size for further study greatly depends on available time and resources.

A cross-sectional study of soft tissue facial morphometry in children and adolescents.

The aim of this study was to determine mean values for selected linear measurements on the face of children and adolescents to demonstrate gender differences in the measurements. Cross-sectional data from 262 school children (158 male, 104 female) aged between 6 and 15 years were taken by measuring certain identified facial landmarks using a sliding caliper. The landmarks were first located by careful inspection and/or palpation of the face and a mark created on the cutaneous surface, with the subject sitting in habitual occlusion in an upright position. A sliding caliper was used to measure the distances between the points. The data was analysed using SPSS version 10.0 to determine mean values, standard deviation and gender differences in the measurements. Upper facial heights, total facial height, inter-canthal distance and eye length measurements were significantly higher in male than in female for 15-year-old group (p<0.0001). The measurement between the highest and the lowest point of attachment of external ear to the head was significantly larger in male than in female for 11 year old age group.