Effect of Long COVID on Work Performance and Annual Monetary Loss among Infected Healthcare Workers at a Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia.

Objective: To assess and compare the work performance loss (absenteeism and presenteeism) and the estimated annual monetary loss among healthcare workers with and without Long COVID.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between October 2022 and April 2024 using an online questionnaire. The shortened version of the Health and Work Performance Questionnaire was used to estimate the work performance effect among healthcare workers with a history of COVID-19 infection.

Prevalence and predictors of post-acute COVID syndrome among infected healthcare workers at University Malaya Medical Centre.

Background: Post Acute COVID Syndrome (PACS), a complex and poorly understood condition characterised by persistent symptoms following the acute phase of COVID-19 infection, has emerged as a significant global health concern. Healthcare workers who had been at the forefront of the pandemic response are at heightened risk of contracting the virus and subsequently developing PACS. Therefore, we aim to determine the prevalence and risk factors for PACS among healthcare workers infected with COVID-19.

Effect of soluble corn fibre and calcium supplementation on bone mineral content and bone mineral density in preadolescent Malaysian children-a double-blind randomised controlled trial (PREBONE-Kids Study).

Unlabelled: Soluble corn fibre (SCF) with calcium did not improve bone indices after 1 year in preadolescent children.

Introduction: SCF has been reported to improve calcium absorption. We investigated the long-term effect of SCF and calcium on bone indices of healthy preadolescent children aged 9-11 years old.

Meta-Learned and TCAD-Assisted Sampling in Semiconductor Laser Annealing.

While applying machine learning (ML) to semiconductor manufacturing is prevalent, an efficient way to sample the search space has not been explored much in key processes such as lithography, annealing, deposition, and etching. The aim is to use the fewest experimental trials to construct an accurate predictive model. Here, we proposed a technology computer added design (TCAD)-assisted meta-learned sampling approach.

Factors associated with bone health status of Malaysian pre-adolescent children in the PREBONE-Kids Study.

Background: Modifiable lifestyle factors and body composition can affect the attainment of peak bone mass during childhood. This study performed a cross-sectional analysis of the determinants of bone health among pre-adolescent (N = 243) Malaysian children with habitually low calcium intakes and vitamin D status in Kuala Lumpur (PREBONE-Kids Study).

Methods: Body composition, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone mineral content (BMC) at the lumbar spine (LS) and total body (TB) were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Vitamin D Status Is Associated with Modifiable Lifestyle Factors in Pre-Adolescent Children Living in Urban Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Studies on vitamin D status and its determinants in growing children in countries with ample sunshine such as Malaysia have been limited. The aim of our study was to determine factors associated with serum 25(OH)D concentrations such as lifestyle, dietary intake, anthropometry, and body composition in 243 pre-adolescent Malaysian children from low-income families living in Kuala Lumpur. This cross-sectional study measured bone density and body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), while serum 25(OH)D was measured using LC-MS/MS.

Design and strategies used for recruitment and retention in a double blind randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of soluble corn fiber on bone indices in pre-adolescent children (PREBONE-Kids study) in Malaysia.

Background: Recruitment and retention in longitudinal nutrition intervention studies among children is challenging and scarcely reported. This paper describes the strategies and lessons learned from a 1-year randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial among pre-adolescent children on the effects of soluble corn fiber (SCF) on bone indices (PREBONE-Kids).

Methods: Participants (9-11 years old) were recruited and randomized into 4 treatment groups (600 mg calcium, 12 g SCF, 12 g SCF plus 600 mg calcium and placebo).

Quantitative analysis of dynamic power Doppler sonograms for patients with thyroid nodules.

To clarify and determine whether power Doppler sonograms are useful for the detection of malignant thyroid nodules, a computerized quantification method was used to evaluate the vascular density of a thyroid nodule in a prospective setting. Sonographic power Doppler images were collected in consecutive frames (45 frames of images), and a proprietary program (AmCAD-UV) was implemented using methods proposed in this article automatically calculated a quantified power Doppler vascular index (PDVI). The minimum PDVI value (PDVImin) was suggested as a measure of the vascular density of the nodule.

Protection of bone marrow-derived CD45+/CD34-/lin- stromal cells with immunosuppressant activity against ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.

Non-hematopoietic CD45+ precursor cells are not known to differentiate into cardiomyocytes. We found that CD45+/CD34-/lin- stromal cells isolated from mouse bone marrow (BMSCs) potentially differentiated into cardiomyocyte-like cells in vitro. Therefore, we hypothesized that the CD45+/CD34-/ lin- BMSCs might protect rat hearts against ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury following xeno-transplantation.

Computerized detection and quantification of microcalcifications in thyroid nodules.

To improve the ultrasonographic detection rates of thyroid cancers with microcalcifications, we propose to enhance the sensitivity of sonographic calcifications detection and to avoid interobserver variation by a computerized quantification method in a prospective setting. A total of 227 participants with 258 nodules were evaluated. Among them, two nodules were excluded for suspicious aspiration cytology results without pathologic proof.

Utilization of and direct expenditure for emergency medical care in Taiwan: a population-based descriptive study.

Background: We surveyed the emergency medical system (EMS) in Taiwan to provide information to policymakers responsible for decisions regarding the redistribution of national medical resources.

Methods: A systematic sampling method was used to randomly sample a representative database from the National Health Insurance (NHI) database in Taiwan, during the period from 2000 to 2004.

Results: We identified 10,124, 10,408, 11,209, 10,686, and 11,914 emergency room visits in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, respectively.

Expression and prognostic significance of angiopoietin in colorectal carcinoma.

Background And Objectives: Growth and metastasis of malignant tumors depend on the angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the prognostic significance of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) expression in advanced colorectal carcinoma.

Methods: Totally, 101 patients with surgically resected advanced colorectal carcinomas were enrolled.

Significance of inflammatory cytokines in the progression of colorectal cancer.

Background/aims: Circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines are associated with the disease status of cancer patients. Our purpose was to determine whether the profile of serum levels of interleukin-1 -2, -6, and -8, and tumor necrosis factor in patients with colorectal cancer correlated with tumor stages and survival.

Methodology: Serum concentrations of individual cytokines in 164 colorectal cancer patients were determined before operation by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Serum interleukin-6 levels reflect the disease status of colorectal cancer.

Background And Objectives: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been shown to be associated with cancer development. However, its role in the progression of colorectal cancer has never been elucidated. Our intention was to investigate this role and identify its prognostic significance.

Serum C-reactive protein correlates with survival in colorectal cancer patients but is not an independent prognostic indicator.

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein synthesized in liver and up-regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF). Elevated CRP has been reported to be associated with reduced crude survival rates in patients with colorectal cancer.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic significance of preoperative serum CRP in relation to the disease-specific survival rate and expression of different cytokines.

Clinical experience of sutureless closed hemorrhoidectomy with LigaSure.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the LigaSure vessel sealing system as an alternative to closed hemorrhoidectomy.

Methods: Sixty-one patients with Grade 3 or 4 symptomatic hemorrhoids were prospectively randomly assigned to undergo hemorrhoidectomy with the LigaSure vessel sealing system or hemorrhoidectomy using the conventional Ferguson procedure. We determined the operation time, postoperative pain, amount of time taken off from work, and complications associated with both techniques.