Experiences of paediatric terminal oncology patients and their parents in palliative care: A qualitative systematic review.

Problem: The terminal phase of childhood cancer poses profound physical and mental challenges for children, simultaneously influencing parents and rendering them particularly susceptible to psychosocial issues.

Eligibility Criteria: This review included studies exploring the experiences of either: (1) paediatric terminal oncology patients aged under 18 years, (2) parents with a child facing terminal cancer undergoing palliative care, or (3) parents with a child who had undergone palliative care and died. English language, qualitative journal studies or grey literature of any care settings, geographical locations and publication years were included.

Unravelling lung adenocarcinoma in an immunocompetent patient with endobronchial aspergilloma: A case report.

Inhalation of Aspergillus spp. can cause a wide spectrum of lung diseases. Endobronchial aspergilloma is an uncommon clinical entity that occurs because of Aspergillus spp.

Upadacitinib Salvage Therapy for Infliximab-Experienced Patients with Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis.

Background And Aims: Acute severe ulcerative colitis [ASUC] is a medical emergency treated with intravenous steroids followed by infliximab or cyclosporin in the case of steroid failure with emergent colectomy required in refractory or severe cases. Case series have reported on the effectiveness of tofacitinib for refractory disease, but data regarding the effectiveness of upadacitinib in this setting have not been previously reported. We describe the use of upadacitinib therapy for steroid-refractory ASUC in patients with prior loss of response to infliximab.

Critical illness associated new onset atrial fibrillation: subsequent atrial fibrillation diagnoses and other adverse outcomes.

Aims: Amongst patients with critical illness associated new onset AF (CI-NOAF), the risk of subsequent atrial fibrillation (AF) diagnoses and other adverse outcomes is unknown, and the role for long-term anticoagulation is unclear. This study sought to determine the factors associated with subsequent AF diagnoses and other adverse outcomes in this cohort.

Methods And Results: Admissions to a tertiary general intensive care unit (ICU) between December 2015 and September 2018 were screened for AF episodes through hourly analysis of continuous ECG monitoring.

Characterisation of Enteritidis ST11 and ST1925 Associated with Human Intestinal and Extra-Intestinal Infections in Singapore.

Enteritidis is a major foodborne pathogen worldwide. In this study, a total of 276 isolates, collected between 2016 and 2017 from human, food and farm/slaughterhouse samples, were studied to enhance the understanding of the epidemiology of human salmonellosis in Singapore. Results showed all 276 isolates belonged either to ST1925 (70.

Identification and characterization of a wolfberry carboxypeptidase inhibitor from Lycium barbarum.

Hyperstable cysteine-rich peptides (CRPs) represent an underexplored superfamily of bioactives in functional foods. An example is wolfberry of the Lycium barbarum family. Previously, we discovered a CRP, designated α-lybatide, from L.

Perceived Deterrence Towards Colonoscopy for Colorectal Cancer Screening among Northern Malaysia Population: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Patients with positive immunochemical faecal occult blood test results were found to have poor compliance for a subsequent colonoscopy procedure. This study was conducted to explore patients' perceived deterrence for colonoscopy following a positive stool test.

Methods: Using qualitative study method, a phone interview was conducted with 16 patients to elicit their views on the reasons for failure to attend the colonoscopy procedure following a positive stool test.

An unusual cause of acute ischemic stroke: Adult Onset Still's Disease.

Adult Onset Still's Disease (AOSD) is a systemic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology. The usual manifestations of AOSD are spiking fevers, arthritis, and an evanescent salmon-pink rash, with neurological manifestations occasionally described. Stroke is a rare manifestation of AOSD and the exact mechanism for stroke in AOSD remains unknown, although it has been hypothesized to be secondary to thrombocytosis or vasculitis.

Disaster Prevention and Recovery.

Biobanking is a costly activity that manages valuable and sometimes irreplaceable specimens. These specimens must be managed and protected carefully as the loss of specimens can destroy years of research efforts, and potentially result in reputational damage to the institution. Therefore, risk management, mitigation, and disaster recovery plans must be in place for unexpected man-made or natural disaster events that will affect biobanking operations.

The Validation of the VereBeef™ Detection Kit.

VereBeef™ Detection Kit, incorporating both multiplex PCR and microarray technologies on a lab-on-chip platform, is intended for qualitative detection and differentiation of O157:H7, O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) virulence factors (), and species in one test using raw beef trim samples. This product underwent extensive evaluations, including inclusivity-exclusivity, method comparison, robustness, lot-to-lot variability, and stability studies. The inclusivity/exclusivity study demonstrated that VereBeef Detection Kit specifically detects and identifies target analytes without occurrence of false-positive and false-negative detection.

Group B Streptococcus Infections Caused by Improper Sourcing and Handling of Fish for Raw Consumption, Singapore, 2015-2016.

We assessed microbial safety and quality of raw fish sold in Singapore during 2015-2016 to complement epidemiologic findings for an outbreak of infection with group B Streptococcus serotype III sequence type (ST) 283 associated with raw fish consumption. Fish-associated group B Streptococcus ST283 strains included strains nearly identical (0-2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms) with the human outbreak strain, as well as strains in another distinct ST283 clade (57-71 single-nucleotide polymorphisms). Our investigations highlight the risk for contamination of freshwater fish (which are handled and distributed separately from saltwater fish sold as sashimi) and the need for improved hygienic handling of all fish for raw consumption.

β-Ginkgotides: Hyperdisulfide-constrained peptides from Ginkgo biloba.

Hyperdisulfide-constrained peptides are distinguished by their high stability and diverse functions. Thus far, these peptides have been reported from animals only but their occurrence in plants are rare. Here, we report the discovery, synthesis and characterization of a hyperdisulfide-constrained peptides family of approximately 2 kDa, β-ginkgotides (β-gB1 and β-gB2) from Ginkgo biloba.

Lybatides from Lycium barbarum Contain An Unusual Cystine-stapled Helical Peptide Scaffold.

Cysteine-rich peptides (CRPs) of 2-6 kDa are generally thermally and proteolytically stable because of their multiple cross-bracing disulfide bonds. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of two novel cystine-stapled CRPs, designated lybatide 1 and 2 (lyba1 and lyba2), from the cortex of Lycium barbarum root. Lybatides, 32 to 33 amino acids in length, are hyperstable and display a novel disulfide connectivity with a cysteine motif of C-C-C-C-CC-CC which contains two pairs of adjacent cysteines (-CC-CC).

Vaccatides: Antifungal Glutamine-Rich Hevein-Like Peptides from .

Hevein and hevein-like peptides are disulfide-constrained chitin-binding cysteine-rich peptides. They are divided into three subfamilies, 6C-, 8C-, and 10C-hevein-like peptides, based on the number of cysteine residues. In addition, hevein-like peptides can exist in two forms, short and long.

Morintides: cargo-free chitin-binding peptides from Moringa oleifera.

Background: Hevein-like peptides are a family of cysteine-rich and chitin-binding peptides consisting of 29-45 amino acids. Their chitin-binding property is essential for plant defense against fungi. Based on the number of cysteine residues in their sequences, they are divided into three sub-families: 6C-, 8C- and 10C-hevein-like peptides.

Ginkgotides: Proline-Rich Hevein-Like Peptides from Gymnosperm .

Hevein and hevein-like peptides belong to the family of chitin-binding cysteine-rich peptides. They are classified into three subfamilies, the prototypic 8C- and the 6C- and 10C-hevein-like peptides. Thus far, only five 8C-hevein-like peptides have been characterized from three angiosperms and none from gymnosperm.

LEPTOSPIROSIS INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY IN MALAYSIA.

Leptospirosis is endemic in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Oceania. Malaysia was categorized as a probable endemic country without any available data. Thus, this study was conducted to determine incidence, case fatality rate and mortality rate of leptospirosis.

Incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer in Malaysia.

Objectives: This is the first study that estimates the incidence and mortality rate for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in Malaysia by sex and ethnicity.

Methods: The 4,501 patients were selected from National Cancer Patient Registry-Colorectal Cancer data. Patient survival status was cross-checked with the National Registration Department.

Antimicrobial Peptides from Plants.

Plant antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have evolved differently from AMPs from other life forms. They are generally rich in cysteine residues which form multiple disulfides. In turn, the disulfides cross-braced plant AMPs as cystine-rich peptides to confer them with extraordinary high chemical, thermal and proteolytic stability.

Osteoporotic hip fractures: 10-year review in a Singaporean hospital.

Purpose: To review records of 2702 patients with osteoporotic hip fractures in a Singaporean hospital.

Methods: Medical records of 1905 women and 797 men, aged 50 to 112 (median, 78) years, who were admitted to a Singaporean hospital with an osteoporotic hip fracture (ICD9 820) between January 2000 and December 2010 were reviewed.

Results: Female patients were significantly older than male patients (p<0.

Demographic characteristics and intravenous drug use among hepatitis C patients in the Kota Setar district, Kedah, Malaysia.

Objectives: This study explored the demographic characteristics of hepatitis C patients in the Kota Setar (KS) district, Kedah, Malaysia, the prevalence of intravenous drug use (IVDU) as a risk factor among these patients, and the associations between IVDU and demographic characteristics.

Methods: Retrospective data pertaining to 713 patients from January 2009 to December 2013 were retrieved from hospital and disease notification records for analysis. The risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were grouped into IVDU and non-IVDU risk factors for analysis using multiple logistic regression.

Intestinal obstruction: predictor of poor prognosis in colorectal carcinoma?

Objectives: The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between intestinal obstruction and the prognosis of colorectal carcinoma.

Methods: Data pertaining to 4,501 colorectal carcinoma patients were extracted from the national colorectal registry and analysed. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Insulin therapy refusal among type II diabetes mellitus patients in Kubang Pasu district, the state of Kedah, Malaysia.

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a rising non-communicable disease in Malaysia. Insulin therapy refusal is a great challenge for healthcare providers, as it results in delayed insulin initiation. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of insulin therapy refusal and its associated factors.

Surface Characteristics and Catalytic Activity of Copper Deposited Porous Silicon Powder.

Porous structured silicon or porous silicon (PS) powder was prepared by chemical etching of silicon powder in an etchant solution of HF: HNO₃: H₂O (1:3:5 v/v). An immersion time of 4 min was sufficient for depositing Cu metal from an aqueous solution of CuSO₄ in the presence of HF. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the Cu particles aggregated upon an increase in metal content from 3.