An integrated magnetoimpedance biosensor microfluidic magnetic platform for the evaluation of the cardiac marker cTnI.

An integrated magnetoimpedance (MI) biosensor microfluidic magnetic platform was proposed for the evaluation of the cardiac marker, cardiac troponin I (cTnI). This bioanalyte evaluation platform mainly comprised three external permanent magnets (PMs), one MI element, two peelable SiO film units and a microfluidic chip (MFC). The MI element was made of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based multilayered [Ti (6 nm)/FeNi (100 nm)]/Cu (400 nm)/[Ti (6 nm)/FeNi (100 nm)] thin films and designed as meander structures with closed magnetic flux.

Risk of myocardial infarction and Osteoporosis: Insights from the 2015-2018 NHANES and Mendelian randomization Studies.

Background: There are some common pathophysiological risk factors between myocardial infarction and osteoporosis, and the exact relationship between the two is not yet clear. Our study aims to provide evidence on the relationship between myocardial infarction and osteoporosis through the analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis from 2015 to 2018.

Methods: A two-sample MR study using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) was conducted to determine the causal relationship between myocardial infarction and osteoporosis.

Diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia: blood plasma and optical coherence tomography.

Accurate and early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia is crucial for enabling timely interventions and improving patient outcomes. This study evaluates the diagnostic performance of plasma biomarkers (neurofilament light chain and phosphorylated tau181) and retinal biomarkers (retinal nerve fibre layer and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer), individually and in combination, in differentiating moderate cognitive impairment and dementia from mild cognitive impairment and no cognitive impairment. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 509 participants, aged 50 and older, recruited from a memory clinic.

Real-time estimated Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score with intervals: improved risk monitoring with estimated uncertainty in health condition for patients in intensive care units.

Purpose: Real-time risk monitoring is critical but challenging in intensive care units (ICUs) due to the lack of real-time updates for most clinical variables. Although real-time predictions have been integrated into various risk monitoring systems, existing systems do not address uncertainties in risk assessments. We developed a novel framework based on commonly used systems like the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score by incorporating uncertainties to improve the effectiveness of real-time risk monitoring.

Selective treatment de-escalation in advanced prostate cancer: have we come full circle?

Compelling evidence has solidified the notion of early treatment intensification in managing patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). Landmark trials have provided Level 1 evidence for the survival benefits achieved by combining multiple agents. The efficacy of combined therapy relies not only on how treatment is intensified but also on how it is de-escalated.

Application and implementation of brief geriatric assessment in primary care and community settings: a scoping review.

Background: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment is the gold standard of clinical care for older patients but its application in the primary care setting is limited, possibly due to its time-consuming process. Hence, a brief geriatric assessment could be a feasible alternative. We conducted a scoping review to identify which brief geriatric assessment tools have been evaluated or implemented in primary and community care settings and to identify the domains assessed including their reported outcomes.

OrchidBase 6.0: increasing the number of Cymbidium (Orchidaceae) genomes and new bioinformatic tools for orchid genome analysis.

Background: Orchids are well-known for their rich diversity of species as well as wide range habitats. Their floral structures are so unique in angiosperms that many of orchids are economically and culturally important in human society. Orchids pollination strategy and evolutionary trajectory are also fantastic human for centuries.

Optimising dementia screening in community-dwelling older adults: A rapid review of brief diagnostic tools in Singapore.

Introduction: Timely detection of dementia enables early access to dementia-specific care services and interventions. Various stakeholders brought together to refine Singapore's dementia care strategy identified a lack of a standardised cognitive screening tool and the absence of a comparative review of existing tools. We hence conducted a rapid review to evaluate the diagnostic performance of brief cognitive screening tools in identifying possible dementia among community-dwelling older adults in Singapore.

Pharmacogenomics in psychiatry: Practice recommendations from an Asian perspective (2024).

Introduction: Pharmacogenomic testing in psychiatry is an emerging area with potential clinical application of guiding medication choice and dosing. Interest has been fanned by commercial pharmacogenomic providers who have commonly marketed combinatorial panels that are direct-to-consumer. However, this has not been adopted widely due to a combination of barriers that include a varying evidence base, clinician and patient familiarity and acceptance, uncertainty about cost-effectiveness, and regulatory requirements.

Intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy for pleural infections: Outcomes from a cohort study.

Introduction: Pleural infections are a significant cause of mortality. Intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy (IPFT) utilising alteplase and dornase is a treatment option for patients unsuitable for surgery. The optimal dose of alteplase is unknown, and factors affecting treatment success in an Asian population are unclear.

Perioperative emergency laparotomy pathway for patients undergoing emergency laparotomy: A propensity score matched study.

Introduction: Emergency laparotomy (EL) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, often exceeding 10%. This study evaluated the impact of the EMergency Laparotomy Audit (EMLA) interdisciplinary perioperative pathway on patient outcomes, hospital costs and length of stay (LOS) within a single centre.

Method: A prospective cohort study was conducted from August 2020 to July 2023.

Electrolyte design for reversible zinc metal chemistry.

Metal anodes hold significant promise for next-generation energy storage, yet achieving highly reversible plating/stripping remains challenging due to dendrite formation and side reactions. Here we present a tailored electrolyte design to surpass 99.9% Coulombic efficiency (CE) in zinc metal anodes by co-engineering salts and solvents to address two critical factors: plating morphology and the anode-electrolyte interface.

Capsaicin-induced secondary hyperalgesia differences between the trigeminal and spinal innervation.

This study compared the degree of secondary hyperalgesia and somatosensory threshold changes induced by topical capsaicin between spinal and trigeminal innervation. This crossover clinical trial included 40 healthy individuals in which 0.25 g of 1% capsaicin cream was randomly applied for 45 minutes to a circular area of 2 cm to the skin covering the masseter muscle and forearm in 2 different sessions, separated by at least 24 hours and no more than 72 hours (washout period).

NIR-II-excited off-on-off fluorescent nanoprobes for sensitive molecular imaging in vivo.

Strong background interference signals from normal tissues have significantly compromised the sensitive fluorescence imaging of early disease tissues with exogenous probes in vivo, particularly for sensitive fluorescence imaging of early liver disease due to the liver's significant uptake and accumulation of exogenous nanoprobes, coupled with high tissue autofluorescence and deep tissue depth. As a proof-of-concept study, we herein report a near-infrared-II (NIR-II, 1.0-1.

Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex bloodstream infection in adult patients: changing epidemiology and determinants of poor outcomes.

Purpose: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common cause of hospital- and community-acquired infection and can readily acquire multiple antimicrobial resistance determinants leading to poor health outcomes. We define the contemporary burden of disease, risk factors for antimicrobial resistance, and poor health outcomes for patients with K. pneumoniae bloodstream infection (Kp-BSI).

Gut-liver translocation of pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae promotes hepatocellular carcinoma in mice.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is accompanied by an altered gut microbiota but whether the latter contributes to carcinogenesis is unclear. Here we show that faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) using stool samples from patients with HCC spontaneously initiate liver inflammation, fibrosis and dysplasia in wild-type mice, and accelerate disease progression in a mouse model of HCC. We find that HCC-FMT results in gut barrier injury and translocation of live bacteria to the liver.