Publications by authors named "Loo W"

Acne vulgaris is a globally prevalent dermatological condition associated with substantial physical and psychological burden. Although acne typically presents during adolescence, it is a chronic condition that also affects many adults. Despite the spectrum of treatments available for acne, limitations in tolerability and safety concerns can present challenges for the use of conventional medications in clinical practice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) represents a spectrum of pathologies ranging from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis. Patients with metabolic associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with fibrosis are at greatest risk of liver and cardiovascular complications. To identify such at-risk MASLD patients, physicians are still reliant on invasive liver biopsies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This project employs artificial intelligence, including machine learning and deep learning, to assess COVID-19 readmission risk in Malaysia. It offers tools to mitigate healthcare resource strain and enhance patient outcomes. This study outlines a methodology for classifying COVID-19 readmissions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study explores how mentorship in medical education has transitioned from a one-on-one relationship to include group and peer mentoring, highlighting its evolving and context-specific nature.
  • - A systematic review of literature from 2000 to 2023 identified 216 articles that illustrate mentoring as a complex adaptive system (CAS), with key characteristics such as community dynamics and long-term support.
  • - The conclusion stresses the need to rethink how mentorship is designed and supported in medical training, emphasizing the importance of understanding mentorship as a CAS for enhancing mentor training and support.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Understanding the arrangement of crystalline regions in semicrystalline polymers is essential for enhancing their properties, with specific focus on polystyrene-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS--PEO).
  • - The crystallinity and organization of crystallites in the PEO phase significantly influence the physical characteristics of the electrolyte in these materials.
  • - Using advanced four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy, researchers visualized the crystal domains in the PEO-rich area of PS--PEO and established the orientation of these domains relative to the PEO-PS interface, showcasing a method applicable to various semicrystalline polymers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Greater patient-caregiver concordance for preferred place of death can increase the chances of patients dying at their preferred place, thus improving quality of life at end-of-life (EOL). We aimed to assess changes in and predictors of patient-caregiver concordance in preference for home death at EOL during the last 3 years of life of patients with advanced cancer.

Methods: We used data from the Cost of Medical Care of Patients with Advanced Serious Illness in Singapore (COMPASS) cohort study of patients with stage IV solid cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hierarchical structure-within-structure assemblies offer a route toward increasingly complex and multifunctional materials while pushing the limits of block copolymer self-assembly. We present a detailed study of the self-assembly of a series of fluorinated high-χ block copolymers (BCPs) prepared via postmodification of a single poly(styrene)--poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (S--G) parent polymer with the fluorinated alkylthiol pendent groups containing 1, 6, or 8 fluorinated carbons (termed trifluoro-ethanethiol (TFET), perfluoro-octylthiol (PFOT), and perfluoro-decylthiol (PFDT), respectively). Bulk X-ray scattering of thermally annealed samples demonstrates hierarchical molecular assembly with phase separation between the two blocks and within the fluorinated block.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Topical psoriasis treatments often have limited efficacy and safety, prompting a study on roflumilast cream's long-term effects.
  • In a phase 2 trial with 332 adult psoriasis patients, those who applied roflumilast cream daily for 52 weeks showed a high completion rate and only minimal adverse events.
  • Results indicated that the cream was effective, with about 44.8% of patients achieving significant improvement at Week 52, supporting its use for chronic treatment, including sensitive areas like the face.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The ability to control and manipulate semiconductor/bio interfaces is essential to enable biological nanofabrication pathways and bioelectronic devices. Traditional surface functionalization methods, such as self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), provide limited customization for these interfaces. Polymer brushes offer a wider range of chemistries, but choices that maintain compatibility with both lithographic patterning and biological systems are scarce.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1), a key mediator of inflammation through necroptosis and proinflammatory cytokine production, may play a role in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as chronic plaque psoriasis. An experimental medicine study of RIPK1 inhibition with GSK2982772 immediate-release formulation at doses up to 60 mg three times daily in mild to moderate plaque psoriasis indicated that efficacy may be improved with higher trough concentrations of GSK2982772.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeat-dose study (NCT04316585) assessed the efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of 960 mg GSK2982772 (once-daily modified-release formulation) in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: We aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with psoriasis and determine the predictive factors of psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed among patients with psoriasis. Demographic and clinical data were collected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Spinal metallosis is a rare complication following spinal instrumentation whereby an inflammatory response to the metal implants results in the development of granulomatous tissue.

Case Summary: We describe the case of a 78-year-old woman who had recurrence of back pain 5 years after lumbar spine posterior decompression and instrumented fusion. Lumbar spine radiographs showed hardware loosening and magnetic resonance imaging showed adjacent segment disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. IBS and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are highly prevalent entities worldwide and may share similar mechanisms including gut dysbiosis, impaired intestinal mucosal barrier and immune system activation.

Aim: To systematically review their association according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Review and Meta-analyses guidelines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The responsible behaviour of consumers that purchase green computers is a form of sustainable consumption, as green computers use less energy resulting in less CO2 emissions and the use of fewer toxic metals and materials during their production. The research question is how to encourage such behaviour. Although prior research has provided some answers by investigating the antecedents of the behaviour, it has done so through a piecemeal approach from the angles of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, and habits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

BACKGROUND Electrocardiography (ECG) may be performed as part of preparticipation sports screening. Recommendations on screening of athletes to identify individuals with previously unrecognized cardiac disease are robust; however, data guiding the preparticipation screening of unselected populations are scarce. T wave inversion (TWI) on ECG may suggest an undiagnosed cardiomyopathy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Prurigo nodularis is a chronic skin disease characterised by intensely pruritic, hyperkeratotic nodules. Vixarelimab, a human monoclonal antibody, binds to the beta subunit of the oncostatin M receptor, inhibiting signalling of both interleukin 31 and oncostatin M, two cytokine pathways that contribute to pruritus and nodule formation in prurigo nodularis.

Methods: This double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2a trial was done at both private and academic dermatology outpatient research clinics across the United States and Canada (n = 40).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) is dictated by their segregation strength, χ, and while there are well-developed methods for determining χ in the weak and strong segregation regimes, it is challenging to accurately measure χ of copolymers with intermediate segregation strengths, especially when copolymers have inaccessible order-disorder transition temperatures. χ is often approximated by using strong segregation theory (SST), but utilizing these values to estimate the interface width () of BCPs in the intermediate segregation regime often results in predictions that deviate significantly from measured values. Therefore, we propose using the extent of mixing, quantified as the normalized interface width /, where is the block copolymer pitch, as a thermodynamic parameter.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study presents a method for the directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs) that involves using homopolymer brushes as "inks" to create patterns on a substrate.
  • By letting these polymer brushes interpenetrate with the existing film during thermal annealing, researchers can generate self-registered chemical contrast patterns that align with the BCP domains.
  • This technique allows for improved tolerance to imperfections in the guiding patterns, ensuring high-quality pattern transfer without affecting the line width roughness of the resulting designs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cytokines in the interleukin (IL)-23/IL-17 axis are central to psoriasis pathogenesis. Janus kinase (JAK) signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) regulates intracellular signalling of several cytokines (including IL-12, 23, 22, 6, 17, and interferon (IFN)-γ) in the IL-23/IL-17 axis, and, as a result, has become a therapeutic target for psoriasis treatment. Although several JAK1-3 inhibitors, with varying degrees of selectivity, have been developed for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, use in psoriasis is limited by a low therapeutic index as anticipated by signals from other disease indications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is a proarrhythmic condition that may require restriction from strenuous activities and is characterized by ECG signs, including delta waves. We observed cases of intermittent WPW patterns presenting as QRS alternans ('WPW alternans') in a large pre-participation ECG screening cohort of young men reporting for military conscription.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the WPW alternans pattern, case characteristics, and the prevalence of other relevant differential diagnoses presenting as QRS alternans in a pre-participation setting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Climate change is likely to have severe impacts on food security in the topics as these regions of the world have both the highest human populations and narrower climatic niches, which reduce the diversity of suitable crops. Legume crops are of particular importance to food security, supplying dietary protein for humans both directly and in their use for feed and forage. Other than the rhizobia associated with legumes, soil microbes, in particular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), can mitigate the effects of biotic and abiotic stresses, offering an important complementary measure to protect crop yields.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF