Browse publications by year: 2023

  1. Zreaqat M, Hassan R, Samsudin R, Alforaidi S
    Indian J Pediatr, 2023 Jul;90(7):729.
    PMID: 37261707 DOI: 10.1007/s12098-023-04601-0
    MeSH terms: Child; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Orthodontic Appliances, Removable*; Prospective Studies; Treatment Outcome
  2. Jane Ling MY, Ahmad N, Aizuddin AN
    PLoS One, 2023;18(6):e0286518.
    PMID: 37262079 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286518
    BACKGROUND: The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing. Risk perception of NCDs is an important factor towards the uptake of preventive health interventions. There are various questionnaires assessing risk perception of NCDs, but no internationally standardized questionnaire has been available. Identification of factors associated with risk perception of NCDs may facilitate the development of targeted interventions. This systematic review aims to identify available questionnaire assessing risk perception of NCDs and the factors associated with risk perception of NCDs.

    METHODS: The reporting of this systematic review is in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We carried out a literature search through three databases (Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science) and targeted original article published in English between 2012 and 2021. Quality appraisal of the eligible articles was conducted using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings were synthesized using content analysis.

    RESULTS: A total of 86 studies were included. We found a variety of questionnaires assessing risk perception of NCDs, with many differences in their development, domains, items and validity. We also identified several personal, sociopsychological and structural factors associated with risk perception of NCDs.

    LIMITATIONS: Most of the included studies were of cross-sectional design, and therefore the quality of evidence was considered low and exhibit a high risk of bias. The role of publication bias within this systematic review should be acknowledged as we did not include grey literature. Additionally, language bias must be considered as we only included English-language publications.

    CONCLUSION: Further development and testing of available questionnaire is warranted to ensure their robustness and validity in measuring risk perception of NCDs. All the identified factors deserve further exploration in longitudinal and experimental studies.

    MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Perception
  3. Calderon PEE, Tan MKM
    New Bioeth, 2023 Dec;29(4):352-362.
    PMID: 37262398 DOI: 10.1080/20502877.2023.2219021
    This article argues that environmental considerations fall within the scope of medical bioethics, and there are implications specific to medical education. It endorses the need to expand the scope and epistemology of contemporary medical bioethics discourse by including themes related to environmental considerations. Our discussion begins by providing a brief history of environmental bioethics. It then offers a critique of three specific health and environmental issues, namely technology, toxics, and consumption, and discusses how these issues are key to articulating moral considerations of human health and subsequently medicine and its teaching. Lastly, it explores criticisms of including environmental issues into the bioethical debate before providing suggestions of how environmental ethics can be included into the medical curriculum. This article concludes by suggesting theoretical possibilities for environmentally inclusive bioethics, such as reorienting bioethical discussions to its original environmental advocacy and supporting environmental bioethics as a competency in medical education.
  4. Nagarajan R, Eswaramoorthi SG, Anandkumar A, Ramkumar M
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2023 Jul;192:115090.
    PMID: 37263028 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115090
    Miri River is a tropical river in Borneo that drains on flat terrain and urbanised area and debauches into the South China Sea. This paper documents the environmental status of this river, and provides an insight into the provenance using bulk chemistry of the sediments, and brings out the geochemical mobility, bioavailability, and potential toxicity of some critical elements based on BCR sequential extraction. The sediments are intense to moderately weathered and recycled products of Neogene sedimentary rocks. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the river favoured an upstream section dominated by fine sand, while the downstream sediments are medium silt. Based on the bulk geochemistry, the Miri River sediments are moderate to considerably contaminated by Cu, Mo, and As in the upstream and by Sb, As and Cu in the downstream. The potential ecological risk values are low except Cu and a significant biological impact is expected in downstream due to Cu, As, Zn and Cr. The mobility, bioavailability and Risk Assessment Code values for Zn and Mn are higher and thus may pose moderate to very high risk to aquatic organisms. Though a high bulk concentration of Cu is observed, the association of Cu with the bioavailable fraction is low.
    MeSH terms: Borneo; China; Environmental Monitoring; Risk Assessment; Geologic Sediments/chemistry
  5. Lim JY, Lim KM, Lee CP, Tan YX
    Neural Netw, 2023 Aug;165:19-30.
    PMID: 37263089 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2023.05.037
    Few-shot learning aims to train a model with a limited number of base class samples to classify the novel class samples. However, to attain generalization with a limited number of samples is not a trivial task. This paper proposed a novel few-shot learning approach named Self-supervised Contrastive Learning (SCL) that enriched the model representation with multiple self-supervision objectives. Given the base class samples, the model is trained with the base class loss. Subsequently, contrastive-based self-supervision is introduced to minimize the distance between each training sample with their augmented variants to improve the sample discrimination. To recognize the distant sample, rotation-based self-supervision is proposed to enable the model to learn to recognize the rotation degree of the samples for better sample diversity. The multitask environment is introduced where each training sample is assigned with two class labels: base class label and rotation class label. Complex augmentation is put forth to help the model learn a deeper understanding of the object. The image structure of the training samples are augmented independent of the base class information. The proposed SCL is trained to minimize the base class loss, contrastive distance loss, and rotation class loss simultaneously to learn the generic features and improve the novel class performance. With the multiple self-supervision objectives, the proposed SCL outperforms state-of-the-art few-shot approaches on few-shot image classification benchmark datasets.
    MeSH terms: Generalization (Psychology)*; Learning*; Rotation
  6. Chellathurai MS, Yong CL, Sofian ZM, Sahudin S, Hasim NBM, Mahmood S
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2023 Jul 15;243:125125.
    PMID: 37263321 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125125
    Chitosan is an abundant natural cationic polysaccharide with excellent biodegradability, bioadhesion, and biocompatibility. Chitosan is extensively researched for various particulate oral insulin drug delivery systems. Oral insulin is economically efficient and more convenient than injections, with greater patient compliance. Electrostatic ionic interaction between cationic chitosan and anionic polymer or insulin leads to the formation of spontaneously self-assembled nanoparticles. This simple technique attracted many researchers as it can be carried out quickly in mild conditions without harmful solvents, such as surfactants or chemical cross-linkers that might degrade the insulin structure. The formulated chitosan nanoparticles help to protect the core insulin from enzymatic degradation in the digestive system and improve paracellular intestinal uptake from the enterocytes due to mucoadhesion and reversible tight junction opening. Moreover, functionalized chitosan nanoparticles create newer avenues for targeted and prolonged delivery. This review focuses on modified chitosan-insulin nanoparticles and their implications on oral insulin delivery. Dependent variables and their optimal concentration ranges used in self-assembly techniques for chitosan-insulin nanoparticular synthesis are summarized. This review provides a comprehensive guide to fine-tune the essential factors to formulate stable insulin-chitosan nanoparticles using mild ionic interactions.
    MeSH terms: Administration, Oral; Drug Carriers/chemistry; Humans; Insulin/chemistry; Drug Delivery Systems
  7. Ghazali SZ, Lavoué S, Sukmono T, Habib A, Tan MP, Nor SAM
    Mol Phylogenet Evol, 2023 Sep;186:107832.
    PMID: 37263456 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107832
    We examined the phylogeny and biogeography of the glassperch family Ambassidae (Teleostei), which is widely distributed in the freshwater, brackish and marine coastal habitats across the Indo-West Pacific region. We first built a comprehensive time-calibrated phylogeny of Ambassidae using five genes. We then used this tree to reconstruct the evolution of the salinity preference and ancestral areas. Our results indicate that the two largest genera of Ambassidae, Ambassis and Parambassis, are each not monophyletic. The most recent common ancestor of Ambassidae was freshwater adapted and lived in Australia about 56 million years ago. Three independent freshwater-to-marine transitions are inferred, but no marine-to-freshwater ones. To explain the distribution of ambassids, we hypothesise two long-distance marine dispersal events from Australia. A first event was towards Southeast Asia during the early Cenozoic, followed by a second one towards Africa during mid-Cenozoic. The phylogenetic signal associated with the salinity adaptation of these events was not detected, possibly because of the selective extinction of intermediate marine lineages. The Ambassidae shares two characteristics with other freshwater fish groups distributed in continental regions surrounding the Indian Ocean: They are too young to support the hypothesis that their distribution is the result of the fragmentation of Gondwana, but they did not retain the phylogenetic signal of their marine dispersal.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Australia; Fresh Water*; Phylogeny; Indian Ocean
  8. Xie Z, Li Y, Xiong K, Tu Z, Waiho K, Yang C, et al.
    Environ Pollut, 2023 Aug 15;331(Pt 2):121921.
    PMID: 37263564 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121921
    Anthropologic activities caused frequent eutrophication in coastal and estuarine waters, resulting in diel-cycling hypoxia. Given global climate change, extreme weather events often occur, thus salinity fluctuation frequently breaks out in these waters. This study aimed to evaluate the combined effects of salinity and hypoxia on intestinal microbiota and digestive enzymes of Crassostrea hongkongensis. Specifically, we sequenced 16 S rRNA of intestinal microbiota and measured the digestive enzymes trypsin (TRS), lipase (LPS) and amylase (AMY) in oysters exposed for 28 days to three salinities (10, 25 and 35) and two dissolved oxygen conditions, normoxia (6 mg/L) and hypoxia (6 mg/L for 12 h, 2 mg/L for 12 h). Oysters in normoxia and salinity of 25 were treated as control. After 28-day exposure, for microbial components, Fusobacteriota, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota comprised the majority for all experimental groups. Compared with the control group, the diversity and structure of intestinal microbiota tended to change in all treated groups. The species richness in C. hongkongensis intestine also changed. It was the most significant that high salinity increased Proteobacteria proportion while low salinity and hypoxia increased Fusobacteriota but decreased Proteobacteria, respectively. Additionally, Actinobacteriota was sensitive and changed under environmental stressor (P 
    MeSH terms: Gastrointestinal Microbiome*; Animals; Anoxia; Lipopolysaccharides; Salinity
  9. Fornace KM, Topazian HM, Routledge I, Asyraf S, Jelip J, Lindblade KA, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2023 Jun 01;14(1):2945.
    PMID: 37263994 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38476-8
    Reported incidence of the zoonotic malaria Plasmodium knowlesi has markedly increased across Southeast Asia and threatens malaria elimination. Nonzoonotic transmission of P. knowlesi has been experimentally demonstrated, but it remains unknown whether nonzoonotic transmission is contributing to increases in P. knowlesi cases. Here, we adapt model-based inference methods to estimate RC, individual case reproductive numbers, for P. knowlesi, P. falciparum and P. vivax human cases in Malaysia from 2012-2020 (n = 32,635). Best fitting models for P. knowlesi showed subcritical transmission (RC  1) was estimated historically for P. falciparum and P. vivax, with declines in RC estimates observed over time consistent with local elimination. Together, this suggests sustained nonzoonotic P. knowlesi transmission is highly unlikely and that new approaches are urgently needed to control spillover risks.
    MeSH terms: Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Malaria, Vivax*; Plasmodium knowlesi*
  10. Fauzia KA, Aftab H, Miftahussurur M, Waskito LA, Tuan VP, Alfaray RI, et al.
    BMC Microbiol, 2023 Jun 01;23(1):159.
    PMID: 37264297 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-02889-8
    BACKGROUND: Infection with Helicobacter pylori as the cause of gastric cancer is a global public health concern. In addition to protecting germs from antibiotics, biofilms reduce the efficacy of H. pylori eradication therapy. The nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related with the biofilm forming phenotype of Helicobacter pylori were studied.

    RESULTS: Fifty-six H. pylori isolate from Bangladeshi patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Crystal violet assay was used to quantify biofilm amount, and the strains were classified into high- and low-biofilm formers As a result, strains were classified as 19.6% high- and 81.4% low-biofilm formers. These phenotypes were not related to specific clades in the phylogenetic analysis. The accessories genes associated with biofilm from whole-genome sequences were extracted and analysed, and SNPs among the previously reported biofilm-related genes were analysed. Biofilm formation was significantly associated with SNPs of alpA, alpB, cagE, cgt, csd4, csd5, futB, gluP, homD, and murF (P 

    MeSH terms: Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Phylogeny; Biofilms
  11. Wainwright BJ, Millar T, Bowen L, Semon L, Hickman KJE, Lee JN, et al.
    Environ Microbiome, 2023 Jun 01;18(1):47.
    PMID: 37264467 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-023-00499-5
    BACKGROUND: Microbes have fundamental roles underpinning the functioning of our planet, they are involved in global carbon and nutrient cycling, and support the existence of multicellular life. The mangrove ecosystem is nutrient limited and if not for microbial cycling of nutrients, life in this harsh environment would likely not exist. The mangroves of Southeast Asia are the oldest and most biodiverse on the planet, and serve vital roles helping to prevent shoreline erosion, act as nursery grounds for many marine species and sequester carbon. Despite these recognised benefits and the importance of microbes in these ecosystems, studies examining the mangrove microbiome in Southeast Asia are scarce.cxs RESULTS: Here we examine the microbiome of Avicenia alba and Sonneratia alba and identify a core microbiome of 81 taxa. A further eight taxa (Pleurocapsa, Tunicatimonas, Halomonas, Marinomonas, Rubrivirga, Altererythrobacte, Lewinella, and Erythrobacter) were found to be significantly enriched in mangrove tree compartments suggesting key roles in this microbiome. The majority of those identified are involved in nutrient cycling or have roles in the production of compounds that promote host survival.

    CONCLUSION: The identification of a core microbiome furthers our understanding of mangrove microbial biodiversity, particularly in Southeast Asia where studies such as this are rare. The identification of significantly different microbial communities between sampling sites suggests environmental filtering is occurring, with hosts selecting for a microbial consortia most suitable for survival in their immediate environment. As climate change advances, many of these microbial communities are predicted to change, however, without knowing what is currently there, it is impossible to determine the magnitude of any deviations. This work provides an important baseline against which change in microbial community can be measured.

  12. Razak NA, Nasir R, Azmi N, Mukhtar H, Mohsim DF, Mustafa MRU
    Water Environ Res, 2023 Jun;95(6):e10900.
    PMID: 37264766 DOI: 10.1002/wer.10900
    Produced water (PW) has been generated in a huge amount representing the largest volume waste stream. Membrane technology has found a leading ability in treating PW due to its significant advantages, such as lower cost, easy installation, and being environmentally friendly. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have received significant research interest due to their flexibility, multifunctionality enhances the membrane performance with increasing selectivity, permeability, robustness, mechanical strength, and resistance to fouling. This mini-review paper identifies the utilization of different membranes for treating PW. It also gives a review of different types of MMMs with specific fillers for the application of PW treatment. Lastly, some methods to enhance the performance of mixed matrix membranes have been highlighted. The issues and challenges in membranes are also discussed. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) are a potential membrane type for PW treatment. This mini-review paper identifies the use of several membranes to treat PW. It also examined various types of MMMs containing specific fillers for the application of PW treatment. Methods for improving the performance of mixed matrix membranes have been highlighted, including the use of novel materials, surface modification, and cross-linking. The issues and challenges in membranes are also discussed.
    MeSH terms: Water*; Water Purification*
  13. de Souza AC, Lioutas V, Sebastian I, Asyraf W, Amaya P, Rocha E, et al.
    Stroke, 2023 Aug;54(8):e399-e402.
    PMID: 37264914 DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.038459
    MeSH terms: Humans
  14. Conen D, Popova E, Wang MK, Chan MTV, Landoni G, Reimer C, et al.
    Am Heart J, 2023 May;259:87-96.
    PMID: 36754105 DOI: 10.1016/j.ahj.2023.01.018
    BACKGROUND: Perioperative atrial fibrillation (AF) and myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) are common complications after noncardiac surgery. Inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both disorders. The COP-AF trial tests the hypothesis that colchicine reduces the incidence of perioperative AF and MINS in patients undergoing major noncardiac thoracic surgery.

    METHODS AND RESULTS: The 'COlchicine for the Prevention of Perioperative Atrial Fibrillation' (COP-AF) trial is an international, blinded, randomized trial that compares colchicine to placebo in patients aged at least 55 years and undergoing major noncardiac thoracic surgery with general anesthesia. Exclusion criteria include a history of AF and a contraindication to colchicine (eg, severe renal dysfunction). Oral colchicine at a dose of 0.5 mg or matching placebo is given within 4 hours before surgery. Thereafter, patients receive colchicine 0.5 mg or placebo twice daily for a total of 10 days. The 2 independent co-primary outcomes are clinically important perioperative AF (including atrial flutter) and MINS during 14 days of follow-up. The main safety outcomes are sepsis or infection and non-infectious diarrhea. We aim to enroll 3,200 patients from approximately 40 sites across 11 countries to have at least 80% power for the independent evaluation of the 2 co-primary outcomes. The COP-AF main results are expected in 2023.

    CONCLUSIONS: COP-AF is a large randomized and blinded trial designed to determine whether colchicine reduces the risk of perioperative AF or MINS in patients who have major noncardiac thoracic surgery.

    MeSH terms: Colchicine/therapeutic use; Humans; Postoperative Complications/drug therapy; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology; Postoperative Complications/prevention & control; Thoracic Surgery*; Incidence
  15. Nguyen TA, Kirubakaran R, Schultz HB, Wong S, Reuter SE, McMullan B, et al.
    Clin Chem, 2023 Jun 01;69(6):637-648.
    PMID: 37116191 DOI: 10.1093/clinchem/hvad036
    BACKGROUND: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of aminoglycosides and vancomycin is used to prevent oto- and nephrotoxicity in neonates. Analytical and nonanalytical factors potentially influence dosing recommendations. This study aimed to determine the impact of analytical variation (imprecision and bias) and nonanalytical factors (accuracy of drug administration time, use of non-trough concentrations, biological variation, and dosing errors) on neonatal antimicrobial dosing recommendations.

    METHODS: Published population pharmacokinetic models and the Australasian Neonatal Medicines Formulary were used to simulate antimicrobial concentration-time profiles in a virtual neonate population. Laboratory quality assurance data were used to quantify analytical variation in antimicrobial measurement methods used in clinical practice. Guideline-informed dosing recommendations based on drug concentrations were applied to compare the impact of analytical variation and nonanalytical factors on antimicrobial dosing.

    RESULTS: Analytical variation caused differences in subsequent guideline-informed dosing recommendations in 9.3-12.1% (amikacin), 16.2-19.0% (tobramycin), 12.2-45.8% (gentamicin), and 9.6-19.5% (vancomycin) of neonates. For vancomycin, inaccuracies in drug administration time (45.6%), use of non-trough concentrations (44.7%), within-subject biological variation (38.2%), and dosing errors (27.5%) were predicted to result in more dosing discrepancies than analytical variation (12.5%). Using current analytical performance specifications, tolerated dosing discrepancies would be up to 14.8% (aminoglycosides) and 23.7% (vancomycin).

    CONCLUSIONS: Although analytical variation can influence neonatal antimicrobial dosing recommendations, nonanalytical factors are more influential. These result in substantial variation in subsequent dosing of antimicrobials, risking inadvertent under- or overexposure. Harmonization of measurement methods and improved patient management systems may reduce the impact of analytical and nonanalytical factors on neonatal antimicrobial dosing.

    MeSH terms: Aminoglycosides; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Retrospective Studies; Drug Monitoring/methods
  16. Murad MW, Abdullah ABM, Islam MM, Alam MM, Reaiche C, Boyle S
    J Public Health Policy, 2023 Jun;44(2):230-241.
    PMID: 37117262 DOI: 10.1057/s41271-023-00413-w
    We investigated the macroeconomic determinants of neonatal, infant, and under-five mortalities in Bangladesh for the period 1991-2018 and discuss implications of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) and Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) for developing countries. We used annual time series data and the econometric techniques of Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) regressions for analysis. Determinants most effective in combating neonatal, infant, and under-five mortalities include variables such as 'protecting newborns against tetanus', 'increasing healthcare expenditure', and 'making sure births are attended by skilled healthcare staff'. Employing more healthcare workers and assuring more and improved healthcare provisions can further reduce the neonatal, infant, and under-five mortalities. Developing countries with similar macroeconomic profiles can achieve similar SDG 3 and MDG 4 outcomes by emulating the policies and strategies Bangladesh applied to reducing child mortalities over the last three decades.
    MeSH terms: Bangladesh/epidemiology; Child; Developing Countries*; Health Personnel; Humans; Infant; Infant Mortality*; Infant, Newborn; Child Mortality
  17. Garegnani L, Franco JVA, Escobar Liquitay CM, Brant LCC, Lim HM, de Jesus Jessen NP, et al.
    Prev Med, 2023 Jul;172:107534.
    PMID: 37146731 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107534
    BACKGROUND: In 2010 the American Heart Association defined the concept of ideal cardiovascular health to renew the focus on primordial prevention for cardiovascular disease. Evidence primarily from high-income countries suggests ideal CVH prevalence is low and decreases with age, with vulnerable populations differentially affected. We aimed to identify and characterize the evidence relevant to CVH metrics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

    METHODS: We followed the Joanna Briggs Institute guideline for the conduct of this scoping review. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS and study registers from inception to 14 March 2022. We included cross-sectional and cohort studies in populations representing a geographically-defined unit (urban or rural) in LMICs, and with data on CVH metrics i.e. all health or clinical factors (cholesterol, blood pressure, glycemia and body mass index) and at least one health behavior (smoking, diet or physical activity). We report findings following the PRISMA-Scr extension for scoping reviews.

    RESULTS: We included 251 studies; 85% were cross-sectional. Most studies (70.9%) came from just ten countries. Only 6.8% included children younger than 12 years old. Only 34.7% reported seven metrics; 25.1%, six. Health behaviors were mostly self-reported; 45.0% of studies assessed diet, 58.6% physical activity, and 90.0% smoking status.

    CONCLUSIONS: We identified a substantial and heterogeneous body of research presenting CVH metrics in LMICs. Few studies assessed all components of CVH, especially in children and in low-income settings. This review will facilitate the design of future studies to bridge the evidence gap. This scoping review protocol was previously registered on OSF: https://osf.io/sajnh.

    MeSH terms: Blood Pressure; Cardiovascular System*; Child; Developing Countries; Diet; Health Status; Humans; Risk Factors; Quality Indicators, Health Care
  18. Ravindar L, Hasbullah SA, Rakesh KP, Hassan NI
    Eur J Med Chem, 2023 Aug 05;256:115458.
    PMID: 37163950 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115458
    Malaria is the fifth most lethal parasitic infection in the world. Antimalarial medications have played a crucial role in preventing and eradicating malaria. Numerous heterocyclic moieties have been incorporated into the creation of effective antimalarial drugs. The 4-aminoquinoline moiety is favoured in antimalarial drug discovery due to the diverse biological applications of its derivative. Since the 1960s, 4-aminoquinoline has been an important antimalarial drug due to its low toxicity, high tolerability, and rapid absorption after administration. This review focused on the antimalarial efficacy of the 4-aminoquinoline moiety hybridised with various heterocyclic scaffolds developed by scientists since 2018 against diverse Plasmodium clones. It could aid in the future development of more effective antimalarial agents.
    MeSH terms: Aminoquinolines/pharmacology; Aminoquinolines/therapeutic use; Humans; Plasmodium falciparum
  19. Tackett S, Jenn Ng C, Sugarman J, Daniel EGS, Gopalan N, Tivyashinee, et al.
    Ethics Hum Res, 2023;45(3):29-39.
    PMID: 37167475 DOI: 10.1002/eahr.500166
    Educational programs are integral to building health research ethics (HRE) capacity, but no outcomes framework exists to guide them. We empirically developed a competency framework for health research ethics education-the Framework for Research Ethics Studies Competencies and Outcomes (FRESCO)-using mixed methods, including group concept mapping and a survey of international experts. FRESCO includes seven competency domains: (1) Foundational Knowledge; (2) Laws, Regulations, Guidelines, and Policies for Research Oversight; (3) Ethical-Issue Identification, Analysis, and Resolution; (4) Engagement, Communication, and Advocacy; (5) Lifelong Learning, Education, Research, and Scholarship; (6) Coordination, Stewardship, and Responsiveness in HRE Systems; and (7) Impartiality, Honesty, and Responsibility. These domains are detailed in 27 subdomains. Survey respondents rated FRESCO's relevance to HRE highly. FRESCO can be adapted and implemented in educational programs to refine recruitment and selection processes, educational and assessment methods, and performance measures to ensure that HRE educational programs have their intended effects.
    MeSH terms: Communication*; Educational Status; Health Education; Humans; Ethics, Research*
  20. Ab Kadir MA, Abdul Manaf R, Mokhtar SA, Ismail LI
    JMIR Res Protoc, 2023 May 15;12:e43712.
    PMID: 37184897 DOI: 10.2196/43712
    BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is considered a neglected zoonotic disease in temperate regions but an endemic disease in countries with tropical climates such as South America, Southern Asia, and Southeast Asia. There has been an increase in leptospirosis incidence in Malaysia from 1.45 to 25.94 cases per 100,000 population between 2005 and 2014. With increasing incidence in Selangor, Malaysia, and frequent climate change dynamics, a study on the disease hotspot areas and their association with the hydroclimatic factors would further enhance disease surveillance and public health interventions.

    OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the association between the spatio-temporal distribution of leptospirosis hotspot areas from 2011 to 2019 with the hydroclimatic factors in Selangor using the geographical information system and remote sensing techniques to develop a leptospirosis hotspot predictive model.

    METHODS: This will be an ecological cross-sectional study with geographical information system and remote sensing mapping and analysis concerning leptospirosis using secondary data. Leptospirosis cases in Selangor from January 2011 to December 2019 shall be obtained from the Selangor State Health Department. Laboratory-confirmed cases with data on the possible source of infection would be identified and georeferenced according to their longitude and latitudes. Topographic data consisting of subdistrict boundaries and the distribution of rivers in Selangor will be obtained from the Department of Survey and Mapping. The ArcGIS Pro software will be used to evaluate the clustering of the cases and mapped using the Getis-Ord Gi* tool. The satellite images for rainfall and land surface temperature will be acquired from the Giovanni National Aeronautics and Space Administration EarthData website and processed to obtain the average monthly values in millimeters and degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the average monthly river hydrometric levels will be obtained from the Department of Drainage and Irrigation. Data are then inputted as thematic layers and in the ArcGIS software for further analysis. The artificial neural network analysis in artificial intelligence Phyton software will then be used to obtain the leptospirosis hotspot predictive model.

    RESULTS: This research was funded as of November 2022. Data collection, processing, and analysis commenced in December 2022, and the results of the study are expected to be published by the end of 2024. The leptospirosis distribution and clusters may be significantly associated with the hydroclimatic factors of rainfall, land surface temperature, and the river hydrometric level.

    CONCLUSIONS: This study will explore the associations of leptospirosis hotspot areas with the hydroclimatic factors in Selangor and subsequently the development of a leptospirosis predictive model. The constructed predictive model could potentially be used to design and enhance public health initiatives for disease prevention.

    INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/43712.

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