Health Benefits of Social Participation Interventions among Community-Dwelling Older Persons: A Review Article.

Background: Social disengagement among older persons may result from accumulated physical impact and social stressors experienced throughout life. Conversely, interventions that enhance social participation addresses social isolation with positive influences on health. This article, therefore, aimed to review the range of published studies that evaluated the health benefits of interventions on social participation among community-dwelling older persons.

Slippery membrane surface tuning with polypropylene coating to treat real aquaculture wastewater in membrane distillation.

Surging growth of aquaculture industry has alarmed the public when the wastewater discharged had an adverse effect on the environment. This current study is a pioneer in the use of membrane distillation (MD) to treat real aquaculture wastewater. In addition to excellent hydrophobicity, the slippery surface of membrane used for MD is another key factor that enhances the performance of MD.

Superhydrophobic surface coating on electrospun polypropylene membrane to treat high salinity water in membrane distillation.

Membrane distillation (MD) is an advantageous separation process compared with pressure-driven technologies and was subsequently introduced to treat aquaculture wastewater. Harnessing a superhydrophobic membrane in an MD process is of extreme importance to prevent membrane wetting. In this work, the electrospun polypropylene (PP) membrane was surface modified by depositing an additional coating of PP via the solvent-exchange method, thereby improving the membrane's superhydrophobicity.

A comparison of tracheal scaffold strategies for pediatric transplantation in a rabbit model.

Objectives/hypothesis: Despite surgical advances, childhood tracheal stenosis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Various tracheal scaffold strategies have been developed as the basis for bioengineered substitutes, but there is no consensus on which may be superior in vivo. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in morbidity and mortality between three competing scaffold strategies in rabbits.

Transcriptional Profiling of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Exposed to In Vitro Lysosomal Stress.

Increasing experimental evidence supports the idea that Mycobacterium tuberculosis has evolved strategies to survive within lysosomes of activated macrophages. To further our knowledge of M. tuberculosis response to the hostile lysosomal environment, we profiled the global transcriptional activity of M.

Tissue Engineered Airways: A Prospects Article.

An ideal tracheal scaffold must withstand luminal collapse yet be flexible, have a sufficient degree of porosity to permit vascular and cellular ingrowth, but also be airtight and must facilitate growth of functional airway epithelium to avoid infection and aid in mucocilliary clearance. Finally, the scaffold must also be biocompatible to avoid implant rejection. Over the last 40 years, efforts to design and manufacture the airway have been undertaken worldwide but success has been limited and far apart.

Tracking Dengue Virus Intra-host Genetic Diversity during Human-to-Mosquito Transmission.

Dengue virus (DENV) infection of an individual human or mosquito host produces a dynamic population of closely-related sequences. This intra-host genetic diversity is thought to offer an advantage for arboviruses to adapt as they cycle between two very different host species, but it remains poorly characterized. To track changes in viral intra-host genetic diversity during horizontal transmission, we infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by allowing them to feed on DENV2-infected patients.

Evaluation of Sumithion L-40 against Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus Skuse.

Space spraying of chemical insecticides is still an important mean of controlling Aedes mosquitoes and dengue transmission. For this purpose, the bioefficacy of space-sprayed chemical insecticide should be evaluated from time to time. A simulation field trial was conducted outdoor in an open field and indoor in unoccupied flat units in Kuala Lumpur, to evaluate the adulticidal and larvicidal effects of Sumithion L-40, a ULV formulation of fenitrothion.

Development of resorbable nanocomposite tracheal and bronchial scaffolds for paediatric applications.

Background: Congenital tracheal defects and prolonged intubation following premature birth have resulted in an unmet clinical need for tracheal replacement. Advances in stem cell technology, tissue engineering and material sciences have inspired the development of a resorbable, nanocomposite tracheal and bronchial scaffold.

Methods: A bifurcated scaffold was designed and constructed using a novel, resorbable nanocomposite polymer, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane poly(ϵ-caprolactone) urea urethane (POSS-PCL).

Role of nanotechnology in development of artificial organs.

Improvements in our understanding of the interactions between implants and cells have directed attention towards nanoscale technologies. To date, nanotechnology has played a helping hand in the development of synthetic artificial organs and regenerative medicine. This includes the production of smart nanocomposite materials; fluorescent nanoparticles like Quantum Dots (QD) and magnetic nano particles (MNP) for stem cell tracking; and carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene for enhancement of material properties.

Clinical profiles of multiple myeloma in Asia-An Asian Myeloma Network study.

The incidence of multiple myeloma (MM) is known to be variable according to ethnicity. However, the differences in clinical characteristics between ethnic groups are not well-defined. In Asian countries, although the incidence of MM has been lower than that of Western countries, there is growing evidence that MM is increasing rapidly.

A method to incorporate prior information into score test for genetic association studies.

Background: The interest of the scientific community in investigating the impact of rare variants on complex traits has stimulated the development of novel statistical methodologies for association studies. The fact that many of the recently proposed methods for association studies suffer from low power to identify a genetic association motivates the incorporation of prior knowledge into statistical tests.

Results: In this article we propose a methodology to incorporate prior information into the region-based score test.

The impact of upfront versus sequential use of bortezomib among patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM): a joint analysis of the Singapore MM Study Group and the Korean MM Working Party for the Asian myeloma network.

From the comprehensive MM registries of the Singapore (SG) and South Korea (SK) MM study groups, we study the survival data of 432 unselected and previously untreated MM patients diagnosed from 2006 to 2009. Although novel agents were introduced to both countries which have compatible healthcare standards at the same time, MM patients with high-risk features in SG could receive frontline bortezomib while bortezomib could only be approved for salvage setting in SK. After a median follow-up of 19 months, despite 26% of patients in SG versus none in SK having received frontline bortezomib, the overall bortezomib-exposure rate was higher in SK (60% versus 47%, p<0.

Lower dose dexamethasone/thalidomide and zoledronic acid every 3 weeks in previously untreated multiple myeloma.

Background: Physicians in Asia have anecdotally reported that Asian patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are frequently intolerant of conventional doses of dexamethasone (Dex) and/or thalidomide (Thal). Since zoledronic acid (Zol) has an anti-MM effect in preclinical studies, we investigated whether the approved 3-times-weekly Zol combined with lower dose Dex/Thal could be an effective and better tolerated regimen in Asian patients.

Patients And Methods: In this first Asian cooperative multicenter phase II study, previously untreated patients with MM (N = 44) received up to 6 cycles of 3-times-weekly low-dose Dex/Thal and 4 mg Zol (the dtZ regimen).

A genome-wide association scan on estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer.

Introduction: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and may be characterized on the basis of whether estrogen receptors (ER) are expressed in the tumour cells. ER status of breast cancer is important clinically, and is used both as a prognostic indicator and treatment predictor. In this study, we focused on identifying genetic markers associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk.

A combined analysis of genome-wide association studies in breast cancer.

In an attempt to identify common disease susceptibility alleles for breast cancer, we performed a combined analysis of three genome-wide association studies (GWAS), involving 2,702 women of European ancestry with invasive breast cancer and 5,726 controls. Tests for association were performed for 285,984 SNPs. Evidence for association with SNPs in genes in specific pathways was assessed using a permutation-based approach.

An abnormal nonhyperdiploid karyotype is a significant adverse prognostic factor for multiple myeloma in the bortezomib era.

Multiple myeloma is clinically heterogeneous and risk stratification is vital for prognostication and informing treatment decisions. As bortezomib is able to overcome several high-risk features of myeloma, the validity of conventional risk-stratification and prognostication systems needs to be reevaluated. We study the survival data of 261 previously untreated myeloma patients managed at our institution, where bortezomib became available from 2004 for the treatment of relapse disease.

Outpatient-based therapy of oral fludarabine and subcutaneous alemtuzumab for asian patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Background. Intravenous alemtuzumab and fludarabine are effective in combination for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but require hospital visits for intravenous injection. We performed a pilot study to assess the safety and efficacy of outpatient-based oral fludarabine with subcutaneous alemtuzumab (OFSA) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory CLL.

Use of phage display to isolate specific human monoclonal antibody fragments against a potential target for multiple myeloma.

Introduction: Multiple myeloma (MM), a malignancy of plasma cells, accounts for 10% of all haematological malignancies and is currently incurable. Although it can be treated, the disease tends to relapse after several years and becomes increasingly resistant to conventional therapy. Investigations into using humoral therapy for MM are now underway with a view that novel therapeutic agents may provide a more targeted therapy for MM.

Association of Epstein-Barr virus with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and current status of development of cancer-derived cell lines.

It is well known that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) contributes directly to tumourigenesis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), primarily in the undifferentiated form of NPC (WHO type III; UNPC or UC), which is commonly found in South East Asia. Unfortunately, research in NPC has been severely hampered by the lack of authentic EBV-positive (EBV+) human NPC cell lines for study. Since 1975, there have been more than 20 reported NPC cell lines.

Ku86 exists as both a full-length and a protease-sensitive natural variant in multiple myeloma cells.

Background: Truncated variants of Ku86 protein have previously been detected in 86% to 100% of freshly isolated patient multiple myeloma (MM) cells. Since, the Ku70/Ku86 heterodimer functions as the regulatory subunit of the DNA repair enzyme, DNA-dependent protein kinase, we have been interested in the altered expression and function of Ku86 variant (Ku86v) proteins in genome maintenance of MM.

Results: Although, a number of studies have suggested that truncated forms of Ku proteins could be artificially generated by proteolytic degradation in vitro in human lymphocytes, we now show using whole cell immunoblotting that the RPMI-8226 and SGH-MM5 human MM cell lines consistently express full-length Ku86 as well as a 69-kDa Ku86v; a C-terminus truncated 69-kDa variant Ku86 protein.

Use of ultraviolet-light irradiated multiple myeloma cells as immunogens to generate tumor-specific cytolytic T lymphocytes.

Background: As the eradication of tumor cells in vivo is most efficiently performed by cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL), various methods for priming tumor-reactive lymphocytes have been developed. In this study, a method of priming CTLs with ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated tumor cells, which results in termination of tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, as well as upregulation of heat shock proteins (HSP) expression is described.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were primed weekly with UV-irradiated or mitomycin-treated RPMI 8226 multiple myeloma cells.

Detection and quantification of the abelson tyrosine kinase domains of the BCR-ABL gene translocation in chronic myeloid leukaemia using genomic quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Introduction: Since undetectable BCR-ABL mRNA transcription does not always indicate eradication of the Ph+ CML clone and since transcriptionally silent Ph+ CML cells exist, quantitation by genomic PCR of bcr-abl genes can be clinically useful. Furthermore, hotspot mutations in the Abelson tyrosine kinase (ABLK) domain of the bcr-abl gene translocation in Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) cells confer resistance on the specific kinase blocking agent, STI571.

Materials And Methods: Genomic DNA from K562, CESS and patient CML cells were amplified using rapid cycle quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for the gene regions spanning the mutation hotspots.