Design and Validation of a Multimodal Diffuse Reflectance and Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy System for In Vivo Applications.

We report on the development of a multimodal spectroscopy system, combining diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS). A fiber optic probe was designed with spatially offset source-detector fibers to collect subsurface measurements for each modality, as well as ball lens-coupled fibers for superficial measurements. The system acquires DRS, zero-offset Raman spectroscopy (RS) and SORS with good signal-to-noise ratio.

Availability, price and nutritional assessment of plant-based meat alternatives in hypermarkets and supermarkets in Petaling, the most populated district in Malaysia.

This study investigated the availability, price, nutritional composition, and quality of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) in supermarkets and hypermarkets in Petaling, the most populated district in Malaysia. The survey covered 85 stores through on-site visits, identifying 251 unique PBMA products from 42 brands. The PBMAs were categorized into nine groups: Burgers/Patties, Coated Meat, Luncheon Meat, Minced Meat, Pastries, Pieces/Chunks/Fillets/Strips, Prepacked Cooked Meals, Sausages, and Seafood Balls/Cakes/Meatballs.

Investigating In Vivo Tumor Biomolecular Changes Following Radiation Therapy Using Raman Spectroscopy.

Treatment resistance is a major bottleneck in the success of cancer therapy. Early identification of the treatment response or lack thereof in patients can enable an earlier switch to alternative treatment strategies that can enhance response rates. Here, Raman spectroscopy was applied to monitor early tumor biomolecular changes in sensitive (UM-SCC-22B) and resistant (UM-SCC-47) head and neck tumor xenografts for the first time in in vivo murine tumor models in response to radiation therapy.

Allele-specific DNA demethylation editing leads to stable upregulation of allele-specific gene expression.

Epigenome editing is an emerging technology that allows to rewrite epigenome states and reprogram gene expression. Here, we have developed allele-specific DNA demethylation editing at gene promoters containing an SNP by sgRNA/dCas9 mediated recuitment of TET1. Maximal DNA demethylation (up to 90%) was observed 6 days after transient transfection of the epigenome editors and it was almost stable for 15 days.

Noncontact Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy of Synovial Fluid Samples for Rapid Identification of Infections.

Severe joint infections, such as septic arthritis, require rapid diagnostic testing of the synovial fluid aspirated from joints level so that a surgical team can be assembled quickly. We present a diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) system for noncontact determination of infection. Using a light-tight syringe holder and fiber optic probe, diffusely reflected light from 475 to 655 nm was acquired from 18 patient samples through the wall of a syringe in a noncontact and sterile manner.

An unilateral double fenestration of the right external jugular vein: a rare variant.

Objectives: This report presents a rare anatomical variation, double fenestration of the External jugular vein on the right side.

Materials And Methods: During the routine dissection of a male cadaver aged 60 years, we observed a unilateral large double fenestration of the External jugular vein on the right side.

Results: After its formation from the posterior division of the retromandibular and posterior auricular veins, External jugular vein descended in the posterior triangle of neck.

Presentation of Breast Cancer and Impact of Patient Navigation on Timeliness of Diagnosis and Treatment and on Adherence to Treatment Recommendations in a Multicenter Network in Malaysia.

Purpose: Breast cancer deaths disproportionately affect women living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Patient navigation has emerged as a cost-effective and impactful approach to enable women with symptoms or suspicious mammogram findings to access timely diagnosis and patients with breast cancer to access timely and appropriate multimodality treatment. However, few studies have systematically evaluated the impact of patient navigation on timeliness of diagnosis and treatment in LMICs.

Evaluating differences in optical properties of indolent and aggressive murine breast tumors using quantitative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.

We used diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to quantify tissue absorption and scattering-based parameters in similarly sized tumors derived from a panel of four isogenic murine breast cancer cell lines (4T1, 4T07, 168FARN, 67NR) that are each capable of accomplishing different steps of the invasion-metastasis cascade. We found lower tissue scattering, increased hemoglobin concentration, and lower vascular oxygenation in indolent 67NR tumors incapable of metastasis compared with aggressive 4T1 tumors capable of metastasis. Supervised learning statistical approaches were able to accurately differentiate between tumor groups and classify tumors according to their ability to accomplish each step of the invasion-metastasis cascade.

Acquired Radiation Resistance Induces Thiol-dependent Cisplatin Cross-resistance.

Resistance to radiation remains a significant clinical challenge in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). It is therefore important to identify the underlying molecular and cellular features that drive acquired resistance. We generated genetically matched NSCLC cell lines to investigate characteristics of acquired resistance.

Locus-Specific and Stable DNA Demethylation at the / ICR1 by Epigenome Editing Using a dCas9-SunTag System and the Catalytic Domain of TET1.

DNA methylation is critically involved in the regulation of chromatin states and cell-type-specific gene expression. The exclusive expression of imprinted genes from either the maternal or the paternal allele is regulated by allele-specific DNA methylation at imprinting control regions (ICRs). Aberrant DNA hyper- or hypomethylation at the ICR1 of the imprinting locus is characteristic for the imprinting disorders Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) and Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS), respectively.

Racial and skin color mediated disparities in pulse oximetry in infants and young children.

Race-based and skin pigmentation-related inaccuracies in pulse oximetry have recently been highlighted in several large electronic health record-based retrospective cohort studies across diverse patient populations and healthcare settings. Overestimation of oxygen saturation by pulse oximeters, particularly in hypoxic states, is disparately higher in Black compared to other racial groups. Compared to adult literature, pediatric studies are relatively few and mostly reliant on birth certificates or maternal race-based classification of comparison groups.

Targeting oncogenic TERT promoter variants by allele-specific epigenome editing.

Background: Activation of dominant oncogenes by small or structural genomic alterations is a common driver mechanism in many cancers. Silencing of such dominantly activated oncogenic alleles, thus, is a promising strategy to treat cancer. Recently, allele-specific epigenome editing (ASEE) has been described as a means to reduce transcription of genes in an allele-specific manner.

Human navicular bone: a morphometric and morphological evaluation.

Background: The composition of navicular joint complex is crucial to perform surgical interventions for multiple pathological foot aetiologies. The data on human navicular bone and its facets from Indian population remain scarce in literature.

Aims And Objectives: To evaluate the morphometry and morphology of navicular bone.

Development of super-specific epigenome editing by targeted allele-specific DNA methylation.

Background: Epigenome editing refers to the targeted reprogramming of genomic loci using an EpiEditor which may consist of an sgRNA/dCas9 complex that recruits DNMT3A/3L to the target locus. Methylation of the locus can lead to a modulation of gene expression. Allele-specific DNA methylation (ASM) refers to the targeted methylation delivery only to one allele of a locus.

Perceptions, attitudes and beliefs towards soya among healthy Asian women participating in a soya randomised controlled trial.

The soya-breast cancer risk relationship remains controversial in Asia due to limited and inconsistent research findings and is exacerbated by difficulties in recruiting and retaining participants in intervention trials. Understanding public perceptions towards soya is important for designing effective intervention trials. Here, we administered a close-ended, quantitative survey to healthy, peri- and post-menopausal Asian women in the Malaysian Soy and Mammographic Density (MiSo) Study to assess perception towards soya and explore motivators and barriers that affect study adherence using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Belief (COM-B) Model and Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

Silicosis, asbestosis, and pulmonary fibrosis in Ontario, Canada from 1996 to 2019.

Background: Silicosis is a fibrotic lung disease caused by exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Historically, silicosis was common among miners and other professions in the 20th century, and in recent decades has re-emerged in coal mining and appeared in new workplaces, including the manufacture of distressed jeans and artificial stone countertops.

Methods: Physician billing data for the province of Ontario between 1992 and 2019 were analyzed across six time-periods (1993-1995, 1996-2000, 2001-2005, 2006-2010, 2011-2015, and 2016-2019).

Barriers to help-seeking for Malaysian women with symptoms of breast cancer: a mixed-methods, two-step cluster analysis.

Background: Improving help-seeking behaviour is a key component of down-staging breast cancer and improving survival, but the specific challenges faced by low-income women in an Asian setting remain poorly characterized. Here, we determined the extent of help-seeking delay among Malaysian breast cancer patients who presented at late stages and explored sub-groups of women who may face specific barriers.

Methods: Time to help-seeking was assessed in 303 women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer between January 2015 and March 2020 at a suburban tertiary hospital in Malaysia.

Do diurnal salivary cortisol curves carry meaningful information about the regulatory biology of the HPA axis in healthy humans?

Salivary cortisol stress biomarkers have been extensively used in epidemiological work to document links between stress and ill health. There has been little effort to ground field friendly cortisol measures in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulatory biology that is likely relevant to delineating mechanistic pathways leading from stress exposure to detrimental health outcomes. Here, we utilized a healthy convenience sample (n = 140) to examine normal linkages between extensively collected salivary cortisol measures and available laboratory probes of HPA axis regulatory biology.

DNA methylation GrimAge acceleration in US military veterans with PTSD.

Epigenetic alterations in DNA methylation might mediate gene expression effects of trauma underlying PTSD symptoms, or effects of PTSD on related health problems. PTSD is associated with all-cause morbidity and premature mortality, suggesting accelerated biological aging. We measured genome-wide DNA methylation (Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip) in whole blood in a treatment study for combat-related PTSD - "PROGrESS", a multisite RCT comparing sertraline plus enhanced medication management (SERT + EMM), prolonged exposure (PE) therapy plus placebo (PE + PLB), and the combination (SERT + PE).

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Soy Isoflavone Intake on Mammographic Density among Malaysian Women.

Soy intake is associated with lower breast cancer risk in observational studies concerning Asian women, however, no randomized controlled trials (RCT) have been conducted among Asian women living in Asia. This three-armed RCT assessed the effects of one-year soy isoflavone (ISF) intervention on mammographic density (MD) change among healthy peri- and postmenopausal Malaysian women. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.

Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy of Changes in Tumor Microenvironment in Response to Different Doses of Radiation.

Radiation therapy plays an important role in cancer treatment, as it is an established method used as part of the treatment plan for the majority of cancer patients. Real-time monitoring of the effects of radiation on the tumor microenvironment can contribute to the development of better treatment plans. In this study, we use diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, a non-invasive optical fiber-based technique, to determine the effects of different doses of radiation on the tumor microenvironment, as well as to determine the sensitivity of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to low doses of radiation that are used in the treatment of certain cancers.