Publications by authors named "Chew J"

Background: Current research highlights the importance of addressing multiple risk factors concurrently to tackle the complex etiology of dementia. However, limited evidence exists on the efficacy of technology-driven, multidomain community-based interventions for preventing cognitive decline.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of ADL+, an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital toolkit integrating cognitive assessments and multidomain interventions, on outcomes of cognitive function, activity levels, and quality of life in older adults at risk of cognitive decline.

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Herein, choline chloride/oxalic acid (ChCl/OA) and choline chloride/oxalic acid/ethylene glycol (ChCl/OA/EG) pretreatments of oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) and mesocarp fibers (MSF) were conducted to achieve protection of the lignin structure, while improving the enzymatic efficiency of the solid residues. Under the operating conditions of 90 °C and 6 h, ChCl/OA/EG demonstrated a higher lignin extraction selectivity and obtained solid residues with higher hemicellulose content compared to ChCl/OA. The digestibility of glucan and xylan in solid residues obtained using ChCl/OA/EG achieved 98.

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Regeneration of oral soft tissue defects, including mucogingival defects associated with the recession or loss of gingival and/or mucosal tissues around teeth and implants, is crucial for restoring oral tissue form, function, and health. This study presents a novel approach using three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting to fabricate individualized grafts with precise size, shape, and layer-by-layer cellular organization. A multicomponent polysaccharide/fibrinogen-based bioink is developed, and bioprinting parameters are optimized to create shape-controlled oral soft tissue (gingival) constructs.

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This study aimed to determine the effects of dietary ME and BW restriction on layer pullet sexual maturation, carcass composition and reproductive organs. Two trials were conducted: a precision feeding (PF) (Experiment 1) and a conventional (CON) experiment (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 was a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with two feed allocation (FA) levels: meal every visit (MEV) or restricted to the lower limit of Lohmann Brown-Lite recommended BW; and three dietary ME levels: Low, Standard (Std), and High (2,600, 2,800, and 3,000 kcal/kg, respectively); the fourth treatment enabled birds to choose from the three diets (Choice).

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Background: Chickens are an important source of animal protein, nutrition, and income in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). They are also a major reservoir of enteropathogens that contribute to the burden of illnesses among children. Food systems present a risk for transmission of enteropathogens from poultry to humans, but there is a lack of population-level data on the pattern of purchase, ownership, and consumption of live chickens and their products in LMICs to better characterize that risk.

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Background: Influenza vaccines are crucial in reducing the risk of influenza symptoms. We aimed to: (1) estimate the association between public health unit (PHU) funding per capita and influenza vaccination among individuals aged 12 and older in Ontario in 2013/2014 and 2018/2019 and (2) determine whether any observed associations were heterogeneous across household income groups, gender and age categories.

Methods: Cross-sectional studies were conducted using the Canadian Community Health Survey, a population-representative survey that collects annual health data.

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This study explores the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), for detecting rice plant diseases using ARM Cortex-M microprocessors. Given the significant role of rice as a staple food, particularly in Malaysia where the rice self-sufficiency ratio dropped from 65.2% in 2021 to 62.

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The objective of this study was to develop appropriate correction equations for dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for total carcass composition of live meat- and egg-type chickens. Linear (bivariate linear and multivariate linear) and nonlinear (polynomial, multivariate polynomial, broken-line and Gompertz) equations were used to estimate carcass composition of DXA-scanned birds based on chemical proximate analysis. A total of 288 laying females (10-30 wk of age) and 305 broiler breeder females (4-32 wk of age) were used.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The novel PDTAN membrane demonstrated exceptional chiral separation efficiency, particularly rejecting D-phenylalanine (D-Phe) at a temperature of 40 °C, while showing significant stability and reduced fouling compared to prior methods.
  • * Temperature-induced structural changes in BSA from α-helix to β-sheet enhance selective recognition of D-Phe, while also lowering interactions that lead to membrane fouling, thereby improving the overall durability and effectiveness of chiral separation.
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Article Synopsis
  • DIEP flaps are considered the best option for natural breast reconstruction, but they require a lot of skill and take longer to perform due to the need to find specific blood vessels during surgery.
  • Locating these vessels typically involves using Doppler ultrasound, which can be difficult and time-consuming for inexperienced surgeons.
  • To speed up the process and improve results, the authors' institution marks the skin in advance at the Breast Radiology department, and the article discusses their methods and experiences with this pre-surgical technique.
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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common motor neurodegenerative disease that still lacks effective therapeutic options. Previous studies have reported that lactoferrin exhibited neuroprotective effects in cellular and animal models of PD, typically induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) or 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP) synthetic toxin. However, the neuroprotective capacity of lactoferrin in the rotenone-induced cellular model of PD remains relatively less established.

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Purpose: Cognitive frailty (CF) is the co-existence of cognitive impairment and physical frailty without dementia, conferring greater risks of adverse clinical outcomes compared to either condition alone. However, the impact of physical frailty components on cognitive performance remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate CF by determining the neuropsychological profiles, functional outcomes, activity levels, and quality of life across the Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) and its components.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Diagnosis can be difficult, especially in areas with high tuberculosis rates, so clinical history and neuroimaging are crucial for accurate identification and timely treatment.
  • * A case study of a 26-year-old man with NCC revealed multiple brain lesions but no systemic symptoms, and he recovered well with a combination of medications, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing NCC from similar conditions.
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Objective: Intrinsic capacity (IC) and frailty are complementary constructs that encapsulate functional capacities of older adults. Although earlier studies suggest the utility of composite IC scores in predicting risk of frailty, key gaps remain with the lack of direct comparative studies between different IC scales and lack of a composite score based on the World Health Organization Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) tool. We aimed to compare different IC scales, including an ICOPE-based scale, in their predictive ability for risk of frailty at 2 years in healthy community-dwelling older adults.

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Background And Objectives: Endovascular therapy (EVT) for stroke has emerged as an important therapy for selected stroke patients, and shorter times to clot removal improve functional outcomes. EVT requires the close coordination of multiple departments and poses unique challenges to care coordination in large hospitals. We present the results of our quality improvement project that aimed to improve our door-to-groin puncture (DTP) times for patients who undergo EVT after direct presentation to our emergency department.

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Objective: In 2018, Ontario Public Health Standards were updated to include the foundational Health Equity Standard to guide planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs and services. Public health units (PHUs), the regional public health bodies, are now required to address health equity through four requirements: (a) Assessing and Reporting; (b) Modifying and Orienting Public Health Interventions; (c) Engaging in Multi-sectoral Collaboration; and (d) Health Equity Analysis, Policy Development, and Advancing Healthy Public Policies.

Methods: This qualitative descriptive study explored how the 27 participating PHUs (out of 34) serving urban (N = 10), mixed urban-rural (N = 15), and rural (N = 9) populations addressed the Health Equity Standard.

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Background: Chickens are an important source of animal protein, nutrition, and income in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). They are also a major reservoir of enteropathogens that contribute to the burden of illnesses among children. Food systems present a risk for transmission of enteropathogens from poultry to humans, but there is a lack of population-level data on the pattern of purchase, ownership, and consumption of live chickens and their products in LMICs to better characterize that risk.

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It is well-established that higher socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with improved brain health. However, the effects of SES across different life stages on brain structure and function is still equivocal. In this systematic review, we aimed to synthesise findings from life course neuroimaging studies that investigated the structural and functional brain correlates of SES across the life span.

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Background: Screening tools such as calf circumference (CC) and Yubi-wakka (finger-ring) test have been recognized as effective tools by Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 (AWGS'19) for sarcopenia screening but their comparative agreement, diagnostic performance and validity are unclear.

Objectives: This study aims to determine: (i)agreement between calf and finger-ring circumference, (ii)diagnostic performance for low muscle mass and AWGS'19 sarcopenia diagnosis, (iii)correlation with muscle mass, strength, and physical performance, and (iv)association with frailty, life space mobility and physical activity.

Methods: We studied 187 healthy community-dwelling older adults (mean age=66.

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Introduction: The demand for resources to support emotional and behavioural development in early childhood is ever increasing. However, conventional interventions are lacking in resources and have significant barriers. The Embers the Dragon programme helps address the growing unmet need of children requiring support.

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Due to beneficial properties like non-flammability, thermal stability, low melting point and low vapor pressure, ionic liquids (ILs) have gained great interest from engineers and researchers in the past decades to replace conventional solvents. The superior characteristics of ILs make them promising for applications in fields as wide-ranging as pharmaceuticals, foods, nanoparticles synthesis, catalysis, electrochemistry and so on. To alleviate the high cost and environmental impact of ILs, various technologies have been reported to recover and purify the used ILs, as well as recycling the ILs.

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Background: Adverse radiation effect (ARE) following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases is challenging to distinguish from tumor progression. This study characterizes the clinical implications of radiologic uncertainty (RU).

Methods: Cases reviewed retrospectively at a single-institutional, multi-disciplinary SRS Tumor Board between 2015-2022 for RU following SRS were identified.

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Ex vivo patient-derived tumor slices (PDTS) are currently limited by short-term viability in culture. Here, we show how bioengineered hydrogels enable the identification of key matrix parameters that significantly enhance PDTS viability compared to conventional culture systems. As demonstrated using single-cell RNA sequencing and high-dimensional flow cytometry, hydrogel-embedded PDTS tightly preserved cancer, cancer-associated fibroblast, and various immune cell populations and subpopulations in the corresponding original tumor.

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Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global health problem. The gut microbiome is now recognized as an important underlying factor to the initiation and progression of CRC. Fusobacterium nucleatum (FN) is one of the most studied bacteria in the aetiology of CRC.

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