The effectiveness of unimodality organ preservation surgical vs organ preservation radiotherapy for early hypopharyngeal cancer: a systematic review protocol.

Objective: Our aim is to determine the comparative effectiveness of unimodality organ preservation surgery versus radiotherapy on oncological and functional outcomes in patients with early hypopharyngeal cancer.

Introduction: Early hypopharyngeal cancer is difficult to detect and therefore rarely diagnosed, as patients are often asymptomatic. Radiotherapy is considered the main treatment, although this modality has been compared to the previously used open surgical approach, which may not reflect current surgical options.

Is transoral robotic surgery useful as a salvage technique in head and neck cancers: a systematic review and meta analysis.

Background: Residual, recurrent, and second primary head and neck cancers are on the rise. This is largely driven by a younger age at diagnosis and increasingly targeted chemoradiotherapy options. Salvage surgery remains the only curative intent option in this cohort of patients.

Evaluation of a point-of-care immunochromatographic assay for enteric fever in Dhaka, Bangladesh: a prospective diagnostic accuracy study.

Background: There is a shortage of rapid, accurate, and low-cost assays for diagnosing enteric fever. The dual-path platform for typhoid (DPPT) assay had high accuracy in retrospective studies with banked plasma samples. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the DPPT assay in a prospective study using fingerstick capillary blood.

Lack of factor VIII detection in humans and dogs with an intron 22 inversion challenges hypothesis regarding inhibitor risk.

Background: Almost half of severe hemophilia A (HA) cases are caused by an intron 22 inversion (Int22Inv) mutation, which truncates the 26-exon F8 messenger RNA (mRNA) after exon 22. Another F8 transcript, F8, is initiated from within F8-intron-22. F8 mRNA consists of a short exon spliced to exons 23 to 26 and is expressed in multiple human cell types.

Role of the dengue vaccine TAK-003 in an outbreak response: Modeling the Sri Lanka experience.

Background: Outbreaks of dengue can overburden hospital systems, drastically reducing capacity for other care. The 2017 dengue serotype 2 (DENV-2) outbreak in Sri Lanka coincided with vaccination in an ongoing phase 3 efficacy trial of a tetravalent dengue vaccine, TAK-003 (NCT02747927). Here, we present data on the efficacy of TAK-003 following two doses of the vaccine administered 3 months apart in participants aged 4-16 years in Sri Lanka.

Harnessing the anti-cancer potential of linamarin: A computational study on design and hydrolysis mechanisms of its derivatives.

Cassava extracts containing cyanogenic compounds demonstrate anticancer properties. The cyanogenic glucoside linamarin found abundantly in cassava can release hydrogen cyanide (HCN) upon hydrolysis, a potent cytotoxin. However, linamarin's hydrolysis mechanism by human enzymes is poorly delineated and constitutes a bottleneck for therapeutic development.

Effectiveness of transoral robotic surgery for recurrent head and neck cancers: a systematic review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the best available evidence regarding effectiveness of transoral robotic surgery in patients with recurrent head and neck cancers.

Introduction: Transoral robotic surgery is now an established modality of treatment for primary head and neck cancer, showing good swallowing outcomes and quality of life for patients post-treatment. In patients with recurrent disease, conventional open surgery is often used, which prolongs recovery time and necessitates tissue disruption to gain access to the tumor site.

Lung Cancer Survival in Sri Lanka.

Nuradh Joseph  Lung cancer is the second commonest cancer among males in Sri Lanka. Real-world survival data are scarce, and we conducted a retrospective survival analysis among patients treated for lung cancer.  All patients with primary lung cancer treated at three selected units during 2015-2016 were included in the study.

Electrochemical hydrogen isotope exchange of amines controlled by alternating current frequency.

Here, we report an electrochemical protocol for hydrogen isotope exchange (HIE) at α-C(sp)-H amine sites. Tetrahydroisoquinoline and pyrrolidine are selected as two model substrates because of their different proton transfer (PT) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) kinetics at the α-C(sp)-H amine sites, which are utilized to control the HIE reaction outcome at different applied alternating current (AC) frequencies. We found the highest deuterium incorporation for tetrahydroisoquinolines at 0 Hz (, under direct current (DC) electrolysis conditions) and pyrrolidines at 0.

Outcomes of patients with esophageal and gastric cancer in Sri Lanka: A retrospective survival analysis.

Introduction: Esophageal carcinoma is the fourth most common cancer among males and sixth most common cancer among females in Sri Lanka. Gastric cancer is less common, but its incidence is gradually rising. We conducted a retrospective analysis of survival of esophageal and gastric cancer patients treated at National Cancer Institute, Maharagama, Sri Lanka.

Hemophilia A subjects with an intron-22 gene inversion mutation show CD4 T-effector responses to multiple epitopes in FVIII.

Background: Almost half of severe hemophilia A (HA) is caused by an intron 22 inversion mutation (Int22Inv), which disrupts the 26-exon gene. Inverted mRNA exons 1-22 are transcribed, while mRNA, containing exons 23-26, is transcribed from a promoter within intron 22. Neither FVIII activity nor FVIII antigen (cross-reacting material, CRM) are detectable in plasma of patients with an intron-22 inversion.

Anti-FVIII antibodies in Black and White hemophilia A subjects: do F8 haplotypes play a role?

The most common complication in hemophilia A (HA) treatment, affecting 25% to 30% of patients with severe HA, is the development of alloimmune inhibitors that foreclose the ability of infused factor VIII (FVIII) to participate in coagulation. Inhibitors confer significant pathology on affected individuals and present major complexities in their management. Inhibitors are more common in African American patients, and it has been hypothesized that this is a consequence of haplotype (H)-treatment product mismatch.

Innovation in Healthy and Sustainable Food Product Development for Health and Aged Care: A Scoping Review.

Population ageing and climate change are issues of global concern. Subsequently, the need for healthy and sustainable food systems to meet the increasing demands for health and aged care is evident. This review aimed to systematically identify studies reporting new or innovative foods, drinks and snack products in health and aged care, and describe health and environmental sustainability considerations where reported.

Controlling One- or Two-Electron Oxidation for Selective Amine Functionalization by Alternating Current Frequency.

Here, we report a unique electrosynthetic method that enables the selective one-electron oxidation of tertiary amines to generate α-amino radical intermediates over two-electron oxidation to iminium cations, providing easy access to arylation products by simply applying an optimal alternating current (AC) frequency. More importantly, we have discovered an electrochemical descriptor from cyclic voltammetry studies to predict the optimal AC frequency for various amine substrates, circumventing the time-consuming trial-and-error methods for optimizing reaction conditions. This new development in AC electrolysis provides an alternative strategy to solving challenging chemoselectivity problems in synthetic organic chemistry.

Practical and scalable synthesis of beclomethasone dipropionate.

Beclomethasone dipropionate (1) is a synthetic corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, and anti-allergy properties. It is widely used to treat asthma, allergic rhinitis, and dermatoses. However, existing synthetic routes to this active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) contain steps resulting in low and/or inconsistent yields, and use obsolete reagents.

Curative-Intent Radiotherapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck in Sri Lanka: The Impact of Radiotherapy Technique on Survival.

Aims: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) treated with curative-intent radiotherapy at the National Cancer Institute of Sri Lanka to determine the impact of the treatment technique on disease-free survival (DFS).

Materials And Methods: SCCHN patients treated with radical radiotherapy or adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy from 2016 to 2017 were included in the study. Data on the following variables were collected by reviewing clinical and radiotherapy treatment records: age, gender, tumour site, stage, time to delivery of radiotherapy, use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, use of concurrent radiosensitising chemotherapy and treatment technique.

Three-year Efficacy and Safety of Takeda's Dengue Vaccine Candidate (TAK-003).

Background: Takeda's live attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate (TAK-003) is under evaluation in a long-term clinical trial across 8 dengue-endemic countries. Previously, we have reported its efficacy and safety in both seronegative and seropositive participants and that its performance varies by serotype, with some decline in efficacy from first to second year postvaccination. This exploratory analysis provides an update with cumulative and third-year data.

Applicability of Western protocols in resource-limited setting: Real-world data of long-term outcome of intensive treatment of adult acute myeloid leukaemia in Sri Lanka.

There are no published data on long-term survival and applicability of treatment protocols from developed countries in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in Sri Lanka. Eighty-seven AML patients were reviewed; there were 56 newly diagnosed patients between 18 and 65 years. Thirty-one out of 33 who started treatment achieved complete remission after first cycle of treatment.

Acute and Subchronic Oral Safety Profiles of the Sudarshana Suspension.

powder (SP) is an Ayurvedic preparation, which contains 53 herbal ingredients along with 50% of and is clinically used with bees honey. This study was aimed to determine the safety profile of the SP, and its novel preparation Sudarshana suspension (SS) on male Wistar rats and tolerance studies were conducted for healthy adult volunteers. Acute and subacute toxicity studies of the SS and hot water extract of SP were assessed in Wistar rats by observing the general behavior, analyzing biochemical and haematological parameters, and pathological observation.

Efficacy of a Dengue Vaccine Candidate (TAK-003) in Healthy Children and Adolescents 2 Years after Vaccination.

Background: Takeda's dengue vaccine is under evaluation in an ongoing phase 3 efficacy study; we present a 2-year update.

Methods: Children (20 099, 4-16 years old) were randomized to receive 2 doses of TAK-003 or placebo 3 months apart and are under surveillance to detect dengue by serotype-specific RT-PCR.

Results: Cumulative efficacy against dengue approximately 27 months since first dose was 72.