Trends in medicine utilisation in public and private healthcare facilities before and during COVID-19: a nationwide analysis of medicine procurement and sales data, 2018-2022.

Background: There was a fluctuation in medication demand and supply during COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess the trend of drug utilisation in Malaysia in 2018-2022 and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on drug utilisation rates.

Methods: We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study of pharmaceutical sales data from public and private sectors in Malaysia from 2018 to 2022.

Content Validation and Pilot Testing of the Promoting Active Lifestyle Among Children With Disability Questionnaire in Filipino and English.

Background: Primary carers, school teachers, and administrators are key influencers in promoting active lifestyle among children with disabilities (CWD). Guided by the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior Model, the Promoting Active Lifestyle among CWD (PALS) Questionnaire aims to determine these influencers' perceptions, capabilities, opportunities, and motivations in active healthy lifestyle promotion. This study evaluated the content validity and feasibility of the PALS Questionnaire in Filipino and English.

Healthcare Use and Costs in Children Receiving Home Mechanical Ventilation in Ontario: A 14-Year Cohort Study.

Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is an advanced medical therapy offered to children with medical complexity. Despite the growing pediatric HMV population in North America, there are limited studies describing healthcare use and predictors of highest costs using robust health administrative data. To describe patterns of healthcare use and costs in children receiving HMV over a 14-year period in Ontario, Canada.

Impact evaluation of guidelines on antibiotic utilisation & appropriateness in Malaysian public primary care: an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: The National Antimicrobial Guidelines (NAG) 2014 and NAG2019 in Malaysia targeted rational and judicious use of antimicrobials. In this study, we assessed the change in antibiotic utilisation and appropriateness due to the guidelines that were implemented from 2011 to 2019.

Methods: Interrupted time series analyses on rates of antibiotic appropriateness and utilisation were performed using prescription data from public primary care clinics in Malaysia between January 2011 and December 2019.

A comparison between antibiotic utilisation in public and private community healthcare in Malaysia.

Background: There are two parallel systems in Malaysian primary healthcare services: government funded public primary care and privately-owned practices. While there have been several studies evaluating antibiotic utilisation in Malaysian public healthcare, there is a lack of literature on the use of antibiotics in the private sector. There is a dire need to evaluate the more recent performance of public vs.

Development of a compensation-aware virtual rehabilitation system for upper extremity rehabilitation in community-dwelling older adults with stroke.

Background: Compensatory movements are commonly observed in older adults with stroke during upper extremity (UE) motor rehabilitation, which could limit their motor recovery.

Aim: This study aims to develop a compensation-aware virtual rehabilitation system (VRS) that can detect compensatory movements and improve the outcome of UE rehabilitation in community-dwelling older adults with stroke.

Methods: The VRS development includes three main components: (1) the use of thresholds for determining compensatory movements, (2) the algorithm for processing the kinematic data stream from Kinect to detect compensation in real-time, and (3) the audio-visual feedback to assist older adults with stroke to be aware of the compensation.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Antibiotic Utilisation in Malaysian Primary Care Clinics: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic change in the delivery of primary healthcare across the world, presumably changing trends in consultations for infectious diseases and antibiotic use. This study aimed at describing and evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on antibiotic use in public primary care clinics in Malaysia between 2018 and 2021. Data from the nationwide procurement database of systemic antibiotics from public primary care clinics in Malaysia between January 2018 and December 2021 were analysed using interrupted time series analysis.

Tubomanometry in measurement of velopharyngeal closure: A pilot study.

Objective: To investigate the differences in velum closure pattern in people with and without a history of middle ear disease using intranasal pressure curves recorded with the tubomanometer, a Eustachian tube (ET) testing device.

Study Design: Case control study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Incidence and Mortality of Children Receiving Home Mechanical Ventilation.

Objectives: The incidence, as well as the predictors of mortality, for children receiving home mechanical ventilation (HMV) using population-based data in Canada is a current knowledge gap. Our objectives were to describe HMV incidence and mortality rates, and associations of demographic and clinical variables on mortality.

Methods: Using Ontario health and demographic administrative databases, we conducted a retrospective cohort study (April 1, 2003-March 31, 2017) of children aged 0 to 17 years receiving HMV via invasive mechanical ventilation and noninvasive ventilation.

Identifying the research, advocacy, policy and implementation needs for the prevention and management of respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection in low- and middle-income countries.

Introduction: The high burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in young children disproportionately occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The PROUD (Preventing RespiratOry syncytial virUs in unDerdeveloped countries) Taskforce of 24 RSV worldwide experts assessed key needs for RSV prevention in LMICs, including vaccine and newer preventive measures.

Methods: A global, survey-based study was undertaken in 2021.

A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study of Integrated Pediatric Complex Care: Experiences of Parents With Care and the Value of Parent Engagement in Research.

Children with medical complexity (CMC) are among the most vulnerable children in society. These children and their families face challenges of fragmented care and are at risk for poorer health outcomes. Families with CMC play a vital role in providing care and navigating the complexities of healthcare systems.

Cost effectiveness analyses of pharmacological treatments in heart failure.

In a rapidly growing and aging population, heart failure (HF) has become recognised as a public health concern that imposes high economic and societal costs worldwide. HF management stems from the use of highly cost-effective angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and β-blockers to the use of newer drugs such as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), ivabradine, and vericiguat. Modelling studies of pharmacological treatments that report on cost effectiveness in HF is important in order to guide clinical decision making.

Conjoint analyses of patients' preferences for primary care: a systematic review.

Background: While patients' preferences in primary care have been examined in numerous conjoint analyses, there has been little systematic effort to synthesise the findings. This review aimed to identify, to organise and to assess the strength of evidence for the attributes and factors associated with preference heterogeneity in conjoint analyses for primary care outpatient visits.

Methods: We searched five bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Econlit and Scopus) from inception until 15 December 2021, complemented by hand-searching.

Evaluation of BNT162b2 vaccine effectiveness in Malaysia: test negative case-control study.

There is a notable lack of vaccine effectiveness studies using test-negative case-controlled approach in low- and middle-income countries which have different logistic, demographic and socio-economic conditions from high-income countries. We aimed to estimate the effectiveness of BNT162b2 vaccine against COVID-19 infection over time, intensive care unit admission, severe or critical disease and death due to COVID-19. This study was conducted in the resident population of Labuan aged ≥18 years who had been tested for SARS-CoV-2 by Reverse-Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction between 1 March 2021 and 31 October 2021.

Molecular basis of the key regulator WRINKLED1 in plant oil biosynthesis.

Vegetable oils are not only major components of human diet but also vital for industrial applications. WRINKLED1 (WRI1) is a pivotal transcription factor governing plant oil biosynthesis, but the underlying DNA-binding mechanism remains incompletely understood. Here, we resolved the structure of Arabidopsis WRI1 (AtWRI1) with its cognate double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), revealing two antiparallel β sheets in the tandem AP2 domains that intercalate into the adjacent major grooves of dsDNA to determine the sequence recognition specificity.

A Novel Hospital-to-Home System for Children With Medical Complexities: Usability Testing Study.

Background: Children with medical complexity (CMC) are a group of young people who have severe complex chronic conditions, substantial family-identified service needs, functional limitations, and high health care resource use. Technology-enabled hospital-to-home interventions designed to deliver comprehensive care in the home setting are needed to ease CMC family stress, provide proactive and comprehensive care to this fragile population, and avoid hospital admissions, where possible.

Objective: In this usability testing study, we aimed to assess areas of strength and opportunity within the DigiComp Kids system, a hospital-to-home intervention for CMC and their families and care providers.

Optimizing Antimicrobial Therapy by Integrating Multi-Omics With Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Models and Precision Dosing.

In the era of "," optimizing antibiotic therapy against multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens is crucial. Mathematical modelling has been employed to further optimize dosing regimens. These models include mechanism-based PK/PD models, systems-based models, quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) and population PK models.

Transcriptional regulation of oil biosynthesis in seed plants: Current understanding, applications, and perspectives.

Plants produce and accumulate triacylglycerol (TAG) in their seeds as an energy reservoir to support the processes of seed germination and seedling development. Plant seed oils are vital not only for the human diet but also as renewable feedstocks for industrial use. TAG biosynthesis consists of two major steps: de novo fatty acid biosynthesis in the plastids and TAG assembly in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Implementing a Care Coordination Strategy for Children with Medical Complexity in Ontario, Canada: A Process Evaluation.

Introduction: A provincial strategy to expand care coordination and integration of care for children with medical complexity (CMC) was launched in Ontario, Canada in 2015. A process evaluation of the roll-out examined the processes, mechanisms of impact, and contextual factors affecting the implementation of the Complex Care for Kids Ontario (CCKO) intervention strategy.

Methods: This process evaluation was conducted and analyzed according to the United Kingdom Medical Research Council (UK-MRC) process evaluation framework.

Sunflower WRINKLED1 Plays a Key Role in Transcriptional Regulation of Oil Biosynthesis.

Sunflower () is one of the most important oilseed crops worldwide. However, the transcriptional regulation underlying oil accumulation in sunflower is not fully understood. WRINKLED1 (WRI1) is an essential transcription factor governing oil accumulation in plant cells.

Functional Antagonism of WRI1 and TCP20 Modulates Expression to Maintain Auxin Homeostasis in Roots.

Auxin is a well-studied phytohormone, vital for diverse plant developmental processes. The genes are one of the major auxin responsive genes, whose expression changes lead to modulation of plant development and auxin homeostasis. However, the transcriptional regulation of these genes remains largely unknown.

Process Evaluation of a Hub-and-Spoke Model to Deliver Coordinated Care for Children with Medical Complexity across Ontario: Facilitators, Barriers and Lessons Learned.

Background: Complex Care for Kids Ontario (CCKO) is a multi-year strategy aimed at expanding a hub-and-spoke model to deliver coordinated care for children with medical complexity (CMC) across Ontario.

Objective: This paper aims to identify the facilitators, barriers and lessons learned from the implementation of the Ontario CCKO strategy.

Method: Alongside an outcome evaluation of the CCKO strategy, we conducted a process evaluation to understand the implementation context, process and mechanisms.