Expectation of antibiotics amongst owners of dogs and/or cats during non-routine visits to veterinary clinics in Singapore: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the factors associated with pet owners' expectations for receiving antibiotics for their pet dogs and/or cats and the factors associated with pets (dogs and/or cats) receiving antibiotics during non-routine veterinary clinic consultations in Singapore.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on consenting pet owners who attended 16 veterinary clinics in Singapore, between March and December 2023. An online survey measured participants' knowledge of antibiotic use, prior antibiotic use experience, expectation for antibiotics and receipt of antibiotics during the last non-routine clinic consultation for their pets.

Real-World Evaluation of Point-of-Care Testing for Hepatitis C Antibodies: Navigating Hepatitis C Elimination Effort.

An HCV elimination program aims to diagnose more than 90% of Chronic HCV cases. We critically evaluated the performance of a point-of-care test (POCT) using an HCV Rapid Antibody Test. PWID from 4 Halfway Houses (HWH) in Singapore were recruited from March 2022 to April 2023.

An Evidence-Based Serious Game App for Public Education on Antibiotic Use and Resistance: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The misuse and overuse of antibiotics accelerate the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Serious games, any form of games that serve a greater purpose other than entertainment, could augment public education above ongoing health promotion efforts. Hence, we developed an evidence-based educational serious game app-SteWARdS Antibiotic Defence-to educate players on good antibiotic use practices and AMR through a game quest comprising 3 minigames and interaction with the nonplayer characters.

Trajectories of polysubstance use: Are past-year internalizing and externalizing problems associated with trajectories of polysubstance use over time?

Objective: Polysubstance use among adults has been a public health concern in the U.S. and is associated with adverse consequences.

Hospitalised patients as stewards of their own antibiotic therapy: a qualitative analysis informing the strategic design of interventions to encourage shared decision-making in tertiary hospital settings in Singapore.

Background: Shared decision-making (SDM) on antibiotic therapy may improve antibiotic use in tertiary hospitals, but hospitalised patients are apprehensive about being involved in it. Understanding the facilitators and barriers to SDM can inform the design and implementation of interventions to empower these patients to engage in SDM on their antibiotic therapies.

Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with 23 adult patients purposively sampled with maximum variation from the three largest tertiary-care hospitals in Singapore (April 2019─October 2020).

The Relationship Between Three Sources of Social Support and Physical Activity Level in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

This study examined how different sources of social support from family members (excluding partners), friends, and partners were associated with moderate and vigorous leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) among middle-aged and older adults. This study included married participants aged 45 or older ( = 2,155) from the Midlife in the United States secondary data set. Hierarchical linear regression was performed to investigate the relationship between the three sources of social support and moderate LTPA, and separately, with vigorous LTPA.

Doctors' perception on the ethical use of AI-enabled clinical decision support systems for antibiotic prescribing recommendations in Singapore.

Objectives: The increased utilization of Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare changes practice and introduces ethical implications for AI adoption in medicine. We assess medical doctors' ethical stance in situations that arise in adopting an AI-enabled Clinical Decision Support System (AI-CDSS) for antibiotic prescribing decision support in a healthcare institution in Singapore.

Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 30 doctors of varying medical specialties and designations between October 2022 and January 2023.

Development of a sexual consent intervention for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Background: Tailored sexuality education for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities is a crucial, yet unmet, need as this population is particularly at risk for sexual abuse and victimisation. However, there are no evidence-based interventions to specifically address this need. This paper presents the development of an intervention framework to address equity in sexuality education and support adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities to understand and provide sexual consent, a foundational aspect of sexuality education and sexual health.

Prospective longitudinal relations among frequent social media use, nicotine vaping and experiencing internalizing mental health problems.

Aims: To compare four a priori rival mediated pathways of frequent social media use, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use and internalizing mental health (MH) problems across five waves of nationally representative data.

Design, Setting And Participants: This was a longitudinal study using data drawn from waves 2-5 (October 2014-November 2019) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, a nationally representative cohort study spanning approximately 5 years, conducted in the United States. The analytical sample of participants included those who were aged 12-14 years at wave 2 and who provided data in subsequent waves until wave 4.

FLT1 activation in cancer cells promotes PARP-inhibitor resistance in breast cancer.

Acquired resistance to PARP inhibitors (PARPi) remains a treatment challenge for BRCA1/2-mutant breast cancer that drastically shortens patient survival. Although several resistance mechanisms have been identified, none have been successfully targeted in the clinic. Using new PARPi-resistance models of Brca1- and Bard1-mutant breast cancer generated in-vivo, we identified FLT1 (VEGFR1) as a driver of resistance.

The impact of safety behavior, perceived risk, and workplace resources on COVID outcomes for U.S. Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting personnel.

Background: Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) personnel are first responders located at airports in the United States who provide emergency response, mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of aircraft at airports. The nature of their work puts ARFF personnel in close contact with travelers on a regular basis and at elevated risk for COVID-19 exposure.

Objective: In this study, we focused on safety behavior, perceived risk, and workplace resources to understand COVID-19 outcomes in the early pandemic among the overlooked worker population of ARFF personnel.

Comparative epidemiology of bacteraemia in two ageing populations: Singapore and Denmark.

Burden of bacteraemia is rising due to increased average life expectancy in developed countries. This study aimed to compare the epidemiology and outcomes of bacteraemia in two similarly ageing populations with different ethnicities in Singapore and Denmark. Historical cohorts from the second largest acute-care hospital in Singapore and in the hospitals of two Danish regions included patients aged 15 and above who were admitted from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2016 with at least 1 day of hospital stay and a pathogenic organism identified.

N-of-1 Trials of Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions to Optimize Antibiotic Prescribing for Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in Emergency Departments: Protocol for a Quasi-Experimental Study.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs attempting to optimize antibiotic therapy and clinical outcomes mainly focus on inpatient and outpatient settings. The lack of antimicrobial stewardship program studies in the emergency department (ED) represents a gap in tackling the problem of antimicrobial resistance as EDs treat a substantial number of upper respiratory tract infection cases throughout the year.

Objective: We intend to implement two evidence-based interventions: (1) patient education and (2) providing physician feedback on their prescribing rates.

Applying Andersen's healthcare utilization model to assess factors influencing patients' expectations for diagnostic tests at emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in non-urgent emergency department (ED) attendance among people presenting with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) symptoms. These non-urgent visits, often manageable in primary care, exacerbated ED overcrowding, which could compromise the quality of ED services. Understanding patients' expectations and the reasons for these ED visits is imperative to mitigate the problem of ED overcrowding.

The Influence of Marriage and Cohabitation on Physical Activity Among Middle-Aged and Older People.

Using data from a nationally representative longitudinal study, Midlife in the United States (waves 1-3; = 1113; aged 49-93), this study investigated whether partnered living status (partnered vs. non-partnered) and partnered living quality (support/strain from partner, partner disagreements) were associated with physical activity in middle-aged/older adults. Regressions were performed to test the effect of change or stability in partnered living status across three waves and relationship quality on the frequency of moderate and vigorous physical activity at Wave 3.

Evaluation of NG-Test CARBA 5 version 2, Cepheid Xpert Carba-R, and carbapenem inactivation methods in comparison to whole-genome sequencing for the identification of carbapenemases in non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli.

NG-Test CARBA 5 (NG-Biotech) is a rapid multiplex immunoassay for the phenotypic detection and differentiation of the "big five" carbapenemase families (KPC, OXA-48-like, VIM, IMP, and NDM). Version 2 of this assay was evaluated alongside the Xpert Carba-R assay (Cepheid, Inc.), the modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM), and the CIMTris assay, with a collection of carbapenem-resistant non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli comprising 138 and 97 isolates.

Are physicians ready for precision antibiotic prescribing? A qualitative analysis of the acceptance of artificial intelligence-enabled clinical decision support systems in India and Singapore.

Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) can augment antibiotic decision-making capabilities, but physicians' hesitancy in adopting them may undermine their utility. We conducted a cross-country comparison of physician perceptions on the barriers and facilitators in accepting an AI-enabled CDSS for antibiotic prescribing.

Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with physicians from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore, and Christian Medical College Vellore (CMCV), India, between April and December 2022.

Screening study of anti-emetics to improve GDF15-induced malaise and anorexia: Implications for emesis control.

Considerable preclinical and clinical attention has focused on the food intake and body weight suppressive effects of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and its elevated blood levels as a consequence of disease states and disease treatment therapeutics. We have previously reported that exogenous administration of GDF15 induces anorexia through nausea and emesis in multiple species. Importantly, GDF15 signaling as a meditator of chemotherapy-induced anorexia and emesis has recently been demonstrated in both murine and nonhuman primate models.

A multi-institutional exploration of emergency medicine physicians' attitudes and behaviours on antibiotic use during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the epidemiology of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and the disease profile of patients attending the emergency department (ED). Hence, we sought to explore the changes in ED physicians' attitudes and behaviours in four EDs in Singapore.

Methods: We employed a sequential mixed-methods approach (quantitative survey followed by in-depth interviews).

An Evidence-Based Serious Game App for Public Education on Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The misuse and overuse of antibiotics contribute to the acceleration of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but public knowledge on appropriate antibiotic use and AMR remained low despite ongoing health promotion efforts. App gamification has gained traction in recent years for health promotion and to affect change in health behaviors. Hence, we developed an evidence-based serious game app "SteWARdS Antibiotic Defence" to educate the public on appropriate antibiotic use and AMR and address knowledge gaps.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and its association with antibiotic usage practices: A nationally representative population study.

Background: Inappropriate antibiotic use drives antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is often used alongside Western medicine in multi-cultural Singapore. This study aimed to assess the influence of CAM use on antibiotic usage practices.