Femoral and tibial phenotypes of varus alignment in a Southeast Asian arthritic population: a descriptive study.

Introduction: Knowledge of femoral and tibial morphology is important for patient-specific surgery in both joint reconstruction and preservation procedures. Studies evaluating morphological variance in femoral and tibial alignments in Asian populations are scarce. This is the first descriptive study evaluating the femoral and tibial phenotypes of varus alignment in a Southeast Asian population.

Piloting a scale-up platform for high-quality human T-cells production.

Cell and gene therapies are an innovative solution to various severe diseases and unfulfilled needs. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT), a form of cellular immunotherapies, has been favored in recent years due to the approval of chimeric antigen receptor CAR-T products. Market research indicates that the industry's value is predicted to reach USD 24.

HRGCNLDA: Forecasting of lncRNA-disease association based on hierarchical refinement graph convolutional neural network.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is considered to be a crucial regulator involved in various human biological processes, including the regulation of tumor immune checkpoint proteins. It has great potential as both a cancer biomolecular biomarker and therapeutic target. Nevertheless, conventional biological experimental techniques are both resource-intensive and laborious, making it essential to develop an accurate and efficient computational method to facilitate the discovery of potential links between lncRNAs and diseases.

Phytochemical quantification and HPLC analysis of Parkia speciosa pod extract.

Introduction: Parkia speciosa Hassk., commonly known as bitter bean or twisted cluster bean, is a tropical leguminous plant species native to Southeast Asia. The plant's edible pods have been traditionally used in various cuisines, particularly in Malaysian, Thai, and Indonesian cooking.

Patients' perspectives on video consultation for non-communicable diseases: a qualitative study in Singapore.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic increased the use of telemedicine in primary care services. Understanding patients' perspectives on telemedicine is pivotal for its wider adoption in managing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the community.

Aim: To explore the views and concerns of patients who have yet to use video consultation (VC) for NCD management in Singapore.

Emerging treatments for corneal endothelium decompensation - a systematic review.

Purpose: Endothelial keratoplasty (EK) is the conventional treatment to improve visual acuity of corneal endothelium decompensation (CED) patients, with other therapies mainly for symptomatic relief. However, the shortage of corneal grafts and other limitations to EK urge the development of novel alternative treatments. In the last decade, novel options have been proposed, yet only a limited number of reviews have systematically reported on outcomes.

Prevalence and impact of misdiagnosed drug allergy labels among patients with hereditary angioedema.

Introduction: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare condition with presents with episodic attacks of angioedema, which is often misdiagnosed as allergy, and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Misdiagnosed drug allergy (DA) labels are also associated with a multitude of adverse clinical outcomes. However, the prevalence and impact of incorrect DA labels on HAE remains unknown.

Concentrations of blood and urinary arsenic species and their characteristics in general Korean population.

Arsenic (As) exposure has been extensively studied by investigating As species (e.g., inorganic arsenic (iAs), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)) in urine, yet recent research suggests that blood could be a possible biomarker of As exposure.

Children's exposures to boron and biocides from slime products in Asian regions.

Background: Chemical exposure from slime toys can cause potential health effects. Although slime toys are popular in Asia, the regulation of boron, chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT), and methylisothiazolinone (MIT) in these toys has been implemented only in Korea.

Objective: In this study, we investigated boron migration levels and CMIT and MIT concentrations in 127 slime products from Asian cities and estimated children's exposure to boron and the biocides in Korea.

Ambient viral and bacterial distribution during long-range transport in Northern Taiwan.

Long-range transport (LRT) reportedly carries air pollutants and microorganisms to downwind areas. LRT can be of various types, such as dust storm (DS) and frontal pollution (FP); however, studies comparing their effects on bioaerosols are lacking. This study evaluated the effect of LRT on viral and bacterial concentrations in Northern Taiwan.

Sequential ultrasonication and deep eutectic solvent pretreatment to remove lignin and recover xylose from oil palm fronds.

This study demonstrated the effect of two-pot sequential pretreatment, comprising of ultrasound assisted deep eutectic solvent (DES) with the aim to investigate the effects of ultrasound amplitude and duration in enhancing delignification. Oil palm fronds (OPF) were ultrasonicated in a water medium, followed by a pretreatment using DES (choline chloride:urea). Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller and solubilised lignin concentration were conducted to confirm the effectiveness of ultrasound assisted DES on the pretreatment of OPF.

A Case of Parvovirus-Related Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis in a Patient with HbH Disease.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is rare and life-threatening medical emergency. Parvovirus infection is rarely associated with HLH. We report a case of parvovirus-related HLH in a patient with alpha thalassaemia (HbH disease).

The Receptor for Hyaluronan-Mediated Motility (CD168) promotes inflammation and fibrosis after acute lung injury.

Acute lung injury results in early inflammation and respiratory distress, and later fibrosis. The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) and the Receptor for Hyaluronan-Mediated Motility (RHAMM, CD168) have been implicated in the response to acute lung injury. We hypothesized that, compared to wild type (WT) mice, RHAMM knockout (KO) mice would be protected from, whereas mice with macrophage-specific transgenic overexpression of RHAMM (TG) would have worse inflammation, respiratory distress and fibrosis after intratracheal (IT) bleomycin.

Right ventricular dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension: a neglected presentation of thyrotoxicosis.

Unlabelled: Thyrotoxicosis is associated with cardiac dysfunction; more commonly, left ventricular dysfunction. However, in recent years, there have been more cases reported on right ventricular dysfunction, often associated with pulmonary hypertension in patients with thyrotoxicosis. Three cases of thyrotoxicosis associated with right ventricular dysfunction were presented.

Diagnostic precision of mentally estimated home blood pressure means.

Context: Paper home blood pressure (HBP) charts are commonly brought to physicians at office visits. The precision and accuracy of mental calculations of blood pressure (BP) means are not known.

Methods: A total of 109 hypertensive patients were instructed to measure and record their HBP for 1 week and to bring their paper charts to their office visit.

Enhanced butanol fermentation using metabolically engineered Clostridium acetobutylicum with ex situ recovery of butanol.

In this study, metabolic target reactions for strain engineering were searched via intracellular coenzyme A (CoA) metabolite analysis. The metabolic reactions catalyzed by thiolase (AtoB) and aldehyde-alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhE1) were considered potential rate-limiting steps. In addition, CoA transferase (CtfAB) was highlighted as being important for the assimilation of organic acids, in order to achieve high butanol production.

Efficacy of acidic pretreatment for the saccharification and fermentation of alginate from brown macroalgae.

This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of acidic pretreatment in increasing the enzymatic digestibility of alginate from brown macroalgae. Pretreatment with 1 % (w/v) sulfuric acid at 120 °C for 30 min produced oligosaccharides, mannuronic acid, and guluronic acid. Enzymatic saccharification of pretreated alginate by alginate lyases produced 52.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is critically involved in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

The pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a devastating lung disease in preterm infants, includes inflammation, the mechanisms of which are not fully characterized. Here we report that the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is associated with the development of BPD. Hyperoxia-exposed neonatal mice have increased caspase-1 activation, IL1β and inflammation, and decreased alveolarization.

HEXIM1, a New Player in the p53 Pathway.

Hexamethylene bisacetamide-inducible protein 1 (HEXIM1) is best known as the inhibitor of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), which controls transcription elongation of RNA polymerase II and Tat transactivation of human immunodeficiency virus. Besides P-TEFb, several proteins have been identified as HEXIM1 binding proteins. It is noteworthy that more than half of the HEXIM1 binding partners are involved in cancers.

The application and correlation of Pont's Index to the facial framework of three main ethnic groups in Malaysia.

Objective: To assess the applicability of Pont's Index in a Malaysian population by obtaining baseline measurements of dental arch shape based on premolar arch width, molar arch width and the combined width of the maxillary incisors. A secondary aim was to determine whether a correlation exists between arch widths, Pont's Index and the facial framework.

Methods: Ninety subjects of mixed racial backgrounds had maxillary dental casts made, measured and selected craniofacial anthropometric measurements taken.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase expression in the periodontal ligament.

Background And Objective: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is a tryptophan-oxidizing enzyme with immune-inhibitory effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of IDO by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of gram-negative bacteria, in human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells.

Material And Methods: Human PDL cells and gingival fibroblasts (GFs) were prepared from explants of human PDLs and from gingival tissues of clinically healthy donors, respectively.

Regulation of PRDX1 peroxidase activity by Pin1.

Pin1 isomerizes the phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro peptide bonds and regulates the functions of its binding proteins by inducing conformational changes. Involvement of Pin1 in the aging process has been suggested based on the phenotype of Pin1-knockout mice and its interaction with lifespan regulator protein, p66 (Shc) . In this study, we utilize a proteomic approach and identify peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1), another regulator of aging, as a novel Pin1 binding protein.

Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), transforming growth factor-β, hyaluronan (HA), and receptor for HA-mediated motility (RHAMM) are required for surfactant protein A-stimulated macrophage chemotaxis.

The innate immune system protects the host from bacterial and viral invasion. Surfactant protein A (SPA), a lung-specific collectin, stimulates macrophage chemotaxis. However, the mechanisms regulating this function are unknown.

Identification of HEXIM1 as a positive regulator of p53.

Hexamethylene bisacetamide-inducible protein 1 (HEXIM1) is best known as the inhibitor of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), which regulates the transcription elongation of RNA polymerase II and controls 60-70% of mRNA synthesis. Our previous studies show that HEXIM1 interacts with two key p53 regulators, nucleophosmin and human double minute-2 protein (HDM2), implying a possible connection between HEXIM1 and the p53 signaling pathway. Here we report the interaction between p53 and HEXIM1 in breast cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and colorectal carcinoma cells.