Is low carotid bifurcation determined by vertebral level always convenient for surgical approach?

Although high-level carotid bifurcation (HCB) could lead to notable surgical difficulty, the definitive reference point for HCB is unclear. HCB is typically characterized as carotid bifurcation (CB) located higher than the level of the third cervical vertebra (C), however, a major obstacle regarding carotid artery surgical exposure is angle of the mandible (AM). The objective of this study was to investigate CB level, define HCB in relation to AM and vertebral levels, and measure the vertical distance from HCB to ipsilateral AM. Moreover, the percentage of surgically challenged CBs, misclassified as low CBs (LCB) based on vertebral level, was investigated. Patients who underwent neck computed tomography angiography were retrospectively studied. HCBs were classified into two categories: CBs above the C3 and either at or above the ipsilateral AM. Of 172 CBs (86 patients; 57 men, 29 women), CB was mostly found at C3 (44.19%), whereas AM was commonly located at C2 (51.16%). Based on vertebral level and AM, HCBs were detected in 10.47% and 20.35% of CBs, respectively. The association of HCBs determined by either C3 or AM between both sides in each individual was nonsignificant (p>0.05), but HCBs determined by C3 level were predominant in women (OR = 3.58, 95%CI = 1.31-9.80). Considering both C3 and AM, there was 8.72% of HCBs. The remaining 91.28% was classified as LCBs, including 11.63% of CBs located at both C3 and AM which were actually classified as HCBs if determined by AM. In cases of CBs above AM level, the mean vertical distance was as high as 6.56 ±2.41mm.

An analysis of pain intensity, injury incidence, and their associations with socio-demographic factors in high school athletes: A cross-sectional study during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between pain intensity, injury incidence, and sociodemographic factors in 120 high school athletes (mean age 16.78±0.91) participating in various sports. The aims of this study are to examine the correlation between factors and Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) for pain intensity, to investigate the correlation between sport types and injured region, and to explore the correlation between injured regions and VRS during training and game competition. Using VRS, we found 64 (53.3%) participants experienced pain during training, with varying degrees of intensity. Chi-square analysis revealed a significant association between VRS scores and school grade (p = 0.044) and cool-down practices (p = 0.037). However, no significant associations were found with gender, age, or sport type. In game competition, 29 (24.2%) participants reported experiencing pain. Here, there was no significant association between VRS and any considered variables. Lower limb injuries were predominant (n = 64), particularly to the knee (n = 23) and ankle/foot (n = 18). Certain sports, like Athletics, Karate-Do, Football, and Western Boxing, demonstrated multiple injury sites, whereas Thai boxing was associated primarily with ankle and foot injuries. Pain intensity varied by injury location, with the highest 'worst pain' reported for elbow injuries during training and knee injuries during competition. Significant associations were found between injured region and pain intensity level during both training and competition (p<0.001). Our findings highlight the need for injury prevention strategies and pain management among high school athletes, emphasizing proper cool-down activities. Further research is warranted to confirm these findings and explore underlying mechanisms.

Negative impact of smoking on lung function: comparing FEV1/FVC values in smokers and non-smokers.

Background: Cigarette smoking has been reported as the significant adverse effects on lung function, which can be evaluated by measuring forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and the ratio of FEV1 to FVC (FEV1/FVC) values. Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of tobacco use and nicotine dependence among college students and their stress levels to inform targeted interventions for smoking prevention and cessation. Material and methods: A total of 429 participants were interviewed face-to-face, of which 71.6% were female and 28.4% were male. Pulmonary function tests were exclusively administered to the 9.8% of participants who reported using tobacco. Results: Our findings revealed a low prevalence of nicotine dependence among college students, with only 6.8% exhibiting moderate or high levels of dependence. Students who reported tobacco use were found to have moderate stress levels,suggesting a potential association between smoking and stress. Chi-square tests revealed that gender, school affiliation,and nicotine dependence were significantly associated with smoking behavior. Long-term smoking (>5 years) was found to be associated with negative health outcomes, such as higher BMI, and increased smoking per day. The analysis of lung function parameters showed that smoking frequency and duration were negatively associated with lung function, while nicotine dependence increased with smoking frequency and duration. Conclusion: Our study suggests that targeted prevention and cessation programs should address these factors to reduce smoking rates among college students.

Forensic and genetic characterizations of diverse southern Thai populations based on 15 autosomal STRs.

Southern Thailand is home to various populations; the Moklen, Moken and Urak Lawoi' sea nomads and Maniq negrito are the minority, while the southern Thai groups (Buddhist and Muslim) are the majority. Although previous studies have generated forensic STR dataset for major groups, such data of the southern Thai minority have not been included; here we generated a regional forensic database of southern Thailand. We newly genotyped common 15 autosomal STRs in 184 unrelated southern Thais, including all minorities and majorities. When combined with previously published data of major southern Thais, this provides a total of 334 southern Thai samples. The forensic parameter results show appropriate values for personal identification and paternity testing; the probability of excluding paternity is 0.99999622, and the combined discrimination power is 0.999999999999999. Probably driven by genetic drift and/or isolation with small census size, we found genetic distinction of the Maniq and sea nomads from the major groups, which were closer to the Malay and central Thais than the other Thai groups. The allelic frequency results can strength the regional forensic database in southern Thailand and also provide useful information for anthropological perspective.

Reconstructing the Human Genetic History of Mainland Southeast Asia: Insights from Genome-Wide Data from Thailand and Laos.

Thailand and Laos, located in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), harbor diverse ethnolinguistic groups encompassing all five language families of MSEA: Tai-Kadai (TK), Austroasiatic (AA), Sino-Tibetan (ST), Hmong-Mien (HM), and Austronesian (AN). Previous genetic studies of Thai/Lao populations have focused almost exclusively on uniparental markers and there is a paucity of genome-wide studies. We therefore generated genome-wide SNP data for 33 ethnolinguistic groups, belonging to the five MSEA language families from Thailand and Laos, and analyzed these together with data from modern Asian populations and SEA ancient samples. Overall, we find genetic structure according to language family, albeit with heterogeneity in the AA-, HM-, and ST-speaking groups, and in the hill tribes, that reflects both population interactions and genetic drift. For the TK speaking groups, we find localized genetic structure that is driven by different levels of interaction with other groups in the same geographic region. Several Thai groups exhibit admixture from South Asia, which we date to ∼600-1000 years ago, corresponding to a time of intensive international trade networks that had a major cultural impact on Thailand. An AN group from Southern Thailand shows both South Asian admixture as well as overall affinities with AA-speaking groups in the region, suggesting an impact of cultural diffusion. Overall, we provide the first detailed insights into the genetic profiles of Thai/Lao ethnolinguistic groups, which should be helpful for reconstructing human genetic history in MSEA and selecting populations for participation in ongoing whole genome sequence and biomedical studies.