Browse publications by year: 2023

  1. Ramli Hamid MT, Ab Mumin N, Wong YV, Chan WY, Rozalli FI, Rahmat K
    Clin Radiol, 2023 Mar 23.
    PMID: 37029001 DOI: 10.1016/j.crad.2023.03.006
    AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of an ultrafast breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol in differentiating benign and malignant breast lesions.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-four patients with Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) 4 or 5 lesions were recruited between July 2020 to May 2021. A standard breast MRI was performed with the inclusion of the ultrafast protocol between the unenhanced sequence and the first contrast-enhanced sequence. Three radiologists performed image interpretation in consensus. Ultrafast kinetic parameters analysed included the maximum slope (MS), time to enhancement (TTE), and arteriovenous index (AVI). These parameters were compared using receiver operating characteristics with p-values of <0.05 considered to indicate statistical significance.

    RESULTS: Eighty-three histopathological proven lesions from 54 patients (mean age 53.87 years, SD 12.34, range 26-78 years) were analysed. Forty-one per cent (n=34) were benign and 59% (n=49) were malignant. All malignant and 38.2% (n=13) benign lesions were visualised on the ultrafast protocol. Of the malignant lesions, 77.6% (n=53) were invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and 18.4% (n=9) were ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The MS for malignant lesions (13.27%/s) were significantly larger than for benign (5.45%/s; p<0.0001). No significant differences were seen for TTE and AVI. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the MS, TTE, and AVI were 0.836, 0.647, and 0.684, respectively. Different types of invasive carcinoma had similar MS and TTE. The MS of high-grade DCIS was also similar to that of IDC. Lower MS values were observed for low-grade (5.3%/s) compared to high-grade DCIS (14.8%/s) but the results were not significant statistically.

    CONCLUSION: The ultrafast protocol showed potential to discriminate between malignant and benign breast lesions with high accuracy using MS.

  2. Lim LY, Chang SJ, Yang SS
    J Pediatr Urol, 2023 Aug;19(4):367.e1-367.e6.
    PMID: 37029009 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2023.03.026
    INTRODUCTION: Elevated post void residual (PVR) is a significant risk factor for urinary tract infections (UTI). It is also a significant predictor of treatment outcomes in cases of vesicoureteral reflux, pediatric enuresis, and non-neurogenic LUT dysfunction. However, the absence of age-specific nomograms for adolescents may limit PVR's use in clinical practice.

    OBJECTIVE: To establish age- and gender-specific normal PVR urine volume in adolescents.

    MATERIAL AND METHODS: Healthy adolescents aged 12-18 years were recruited to undergo two uroflowmetry and PVR studies whenever they felt the urge to urinate. Adolescents with neurological disorders, known LUT dysfunction or UTI were excluded.

    RESULTS: A total of 1050 adolescents were invited, but only 651 consented. Fourteen participants were excluded due to low bladder volume (BV 100 ml (n = 5) and missing information (n = 6). Ultimately, 894 uroflowmetry and PVR from 605 adolescents (mean age 14.6 ± 1.5 years) were analyzed. PVRs were higher in adolescents aged 15-18 years than in those aged 12-14 years (P 20 ml (7% BV) for males of both the age groups, and PVR >25 ml (9% BV) and PVR >35 ml (>10% BV) for females aged 12-14 and 15-18 years, respectively. Further investigation may be warranted if the repeat PVR is above the 95th percentile, i.e., PVR >30 ml (8% BV) and >30 ml (11% BV) for males aged 12-14 and 15-18 years, respectively, and PVR >35 ml (11% BV) and >45 ml (13% BV) for females aged 12-14 and 15-18 years, respectively.

    CONCLUSION: PVR increases with age and varies by gender; thus, age-and gender-specific reference values should be used. Further data from other countries is required to determine whether the study's recommendations can be applied globally.

    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Urinary Incontinence*; Urinary Tract Infections*; Urodynamics; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux*; Treatment Outcome
  3. Tan EKM, Tiong SH, Adan D, Md Zain MZB, Md Rejab SA, Baharudin MS, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2023 Apr 07;13(1):5744.
    PMID: 37029194 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32479-7
    During the milling process of palm oil, the degree of palm fruit ripeness is a critical factor that affects the quality and quantity of the oil. As the palm fruit matures, its chlorophyll level decreases, and since chlorophyll in oil has undesirable effects on hydrogenation, bleachability, and oxidative degradation, it's important to monitor the chlorophyll content in palm oil during the milling process. This study investigated the use of light-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (LICF) for non-invasive and real-time monitoring of chlorophyll content in diluted crude palm oil (DCO) located at the dilution and oil classification point in palm oil mill. An LICF probe was installed at the secondary pipe connected to main DCO pipeline, and the system communicates with a computer located in a separate control room via a Wi-Fi connection. Continuous measurements were recorded with an integration time of 500 ms, averaging of 10, and a time interval of 1 min between each recording during the oil mill's operation. All data were stored on the computer and in the cloud. We collected 60 DCO samples and sent them to the laboratory for American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) measurement to compare with the LICF signal. The LICF method achieved a correlation coefficient of 0.88 with the AOCS measurements, and it also provided a direct, quantitative, and unbiased assessment of the fruit ripeness in the mill. By incorporating Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and cloud storage, this LICF system enables remote and real-time access to data for chemometrics analysis.
    MeSH terms: Chlorophyll*; Fruit; Plant Oils*
  4. Fakhri MA, Salim ET, Tariq SM, Ibrahim RK, Alsultany FH, Alwahib AA, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2023 Apr 07;13(1):5680.
    PMID: 37029253 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32852-6
    In the last few decays, the fiber-optic was employed in the field of sensing because of its benefits in contrast to other types of sensors such as small size, easy to fabricate, high response, and flexibility. In this study, unclad single mode fiber-optic sensor is proposed to operate at 650 nm wavelength. COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1 finite element method (FEM) is used to design the sensor and tested it theoretically. The middle portion of the fiber cladding is removed and replaced by gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) of 50 nm thickness. Analytic layer of 3 μm thickness was immersed in different liquids in range of refractive index (RI) from 1.000281 to 1.39. These liquids are NaCl Deionized (DI) water solution, sucrose-Deionized (DI) water solution, and glycerol solution Deionized (DI) water. It was found that the highest obtained sensitivity and resolution are for glycerol-DI water solution with value of 3157.98 (nm/RIU) and 3.16 × 10-5 (RIU), respectively. Furthermore, it is easy to fabricate and of low cost. In experiments, pulsed laser ablation (PLA) was used to prepare Au NPs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shown that the peak of the intensity grew as the ablated energy increased as well as the structure crystallization. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed an average diameter of 30 nm at the three ablated energies, while X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectrum has indicated the presence of Au NPs in the prepared solution. The photoluminescence (PL) and ultraviolet-visible UV-Vis transmission were used to study the optical properties of the prepared Au NPs. An optical spectrum analyzer was used to obtain the sensor's output results. It has shown that best intensity was obtained for sucrose which confined with theoretical results.
  5. Farooq A, Bilgrami A, Faraz SA, Qazi FUR, Maqsood A, Altamash S, et al.
    J Appl Biomater Funct Mater, 2023;21:22808000231166210.
    PMID: 37029505 DOI: 10.1177/22808000231166210
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of an experimental root canal irrigant and 17% Ethylene-di-amine tetra acetic acid for removal of the smear layer in the coronal, middle and apical portions of the root canal.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety human single rooted maxillary and mandibular teeth were selected for this study. The teeth were randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group as follows: Group A (Ethanolic extract of Sapindus Mukorossi), Group B (17% EDTA), and Group C (Distilled water). The root canals of all three groups were prepared with stainless steel K-files by means of the standard step-back technique and irrigated with 5.25% sodium hypo chloride. The teeth were decoronated, following the irrigation and divided longitudinally into two-halves and visualized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the amount of smear layer present utilizing the three-point score system. The observations were noted both before and after the treatment. Nonparametric tests were applied for the comparison and p-value ⩽ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

    RESULTS: It was evident from that smear layer was completely removed in coronal portion of 27 out of 30 teeth in-group A. For middle and apical areas of group A, 24 and 19 teeth showed complete smear layer removal. In-group B it was found that there were 24, 21, and 3 teeth at coronal, middle and apical, areas respectively where smear layer were completely absent. Intra group comparison showed a significant difference (p = 0.002) in smear layer removal was found for group A at coronal, middle and apical thirds. Similarly, a significant difference (p = 0.001) was also found for group B; however heavy smear layer was found among the three parts of the canal for group C.

    CONCLUSIONS: Ethanolic extract of Sapindus Mukorossi have higher effectiveness in removing the smear layer from the root canal in comparison to 17% EDTA.

    MeSH terms: Dental Pulp Cavity/drug effects; Humans; Phytotherapy; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Plant Extracts/administration & dosage; Plant Extracts/therapeutic use; Tooth Diseases/drug therapy; Tooth Diseases/therapy; Root Canal Preparation/methods; Sapindus*
  6. Ng BK, Chin TY, Abu Shamsi N, Azizan SA
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2023 May;35(4):257-266.
    PMID: 37029545 DOI: 10.1177/10105395231164441
    This qualitative article explores the potential role of health care social enterprises (SEs) as disruptive innovators in improving the availability, accessibility, and affordability of health care delivery. It focuses on the context and mechanisms that enable SEs to produce positive health outcomes. Findings from an in-depth interview with the representatives of SEs and stakeholders in Malaysia reveal that strategies to balance the elements of social and enterprise (business) are the key for SEs to sustain in the market. This is supported with several inclusive business models such as inclusive employment model, cross-subsidization, and flexible fees payment mechanism, as well as collaborative engagement with multiple stakeholders, expert domains, and social workers. This article also highlights several main challenges in health care SEs, namely financial sustainability, impact measurement, scaling up of project, and political influence. This article ends with a few salient policies that focus on nurturing and strengthening health care SEs.
    MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care*; Health Policy; Health Services*; Humans; Malaysia; Policy
  7. Patil M, Hedaoo RP, Shah RP, Tauseef SM, Marzo RR, Ching SM, et al.
    Inquiry, 2023;60:469580231167010.
    PMID: 37029552 DOI: 10.1177/00469580231167010
    The burden of hypertension has been growing over recent decades. In addition to risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease development, data indicates that hypertension may also pose a hazard to the quality of life (QoL) of individuals. Patient reported outcomes such as QoL are often overlooked, with physicians and healthcare professionals not routinely evaluating or customizing treatments according to QoL. In this study we aimed to assess the QoL of hypertensive men (n = 500) undergoing treatment who visited a charitable hospital in Pune, India. Clinic blood pressure was determined and the Mini Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida en Hipertensión Arterial (MINICHAL) scale was used to assess the health-related (HR)-QoL of patients. More than half of the participants (62%) had uncontrolled hypertension, with a mean systolic blood pressure (BP) of 151 ± 12 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure of 87 ± 6 mmHg as compared to those with controlled blood pressure (mean systolic blood pressure 123 ± 6 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure 84 ± 5 mmHg; P 
    MeSH terms: Cardiovascular Diseases*; Humans; Hypertension*; India; Male; Quality of Life
  8. Loh SY, Ee SI, Marret MJ
    Int J Dev Disabil, 2023;69(2):226-237.
    PMID: 37025328 DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2021.1950484
    Autism is a condition manifested by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, and, sensory processing difficulties may further affect childhood-occupation and hinders their overall development. This study examines the sensory-processing and childhood participation of children with autism (6 to 10 years), and 'age/gender-matched typical children as control. The Sensory Processing (SSP) and the Participation of childhood-occupation (PICO) measures were used to collect data from 93 parents of children with autism and 95 parents of typically-developing' children, recruited from hospitals, school and care centres. This study had 74 percent (n = 72) male participants (i.e. 4:1 male to female ratio) in the autism group, and found sensory processing difficulties were associated with specific childhood-participation limitation. Children with autism had lower participation (across level, frequency and enjoyment) than the typical children. Sensory-processing' difficulties for the children with autism (n = 93) were at 68.8 percent, compared to 21.5 percent in the typical group (n = 95), and were significantly different (p   0.28). Auditory filtering was the sole sensory-processing difficulty with significant correlations with all three dimensions of participation [i.e. difficulty (r = 0.36, p  
  9. Huang SZ, Sadiq M, Chien F
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Mar;30(15):42753-42765.
    PMID: 34652619 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-16818-7
    There is a shred of evidence of environmental degradation in the form of carbon emissions to behave differently when tested with different macroeconomic variables. This paper aims to examine the long-run and short-run association between natural resource rent, financial development, and urbanization on carbon emission from the context of the USA during 1995-2015 with the help of a contemporary and innovative approach named quantile autoregressive distributed lagged model (QARDL). The stated approach is applied due to the fact that non-linearity is observed for the study variables. The findings indicated that the higher financial development (0.304), natural resource rent (0.102), and urbanization (0.489) have a positive impact on the environmental degradation in the region of USA during long-run estimation in the stated quantiles of the study. This would indicate that higher financial development, urbanization, and natural resources are putting more environmental pressure on the economy of the USA. Similarly, the findings under short-run estimation confirm that past and lagged values of carbon emission, financial development, natural resource rent, and urbanization are significantly determining the current values of the carbon emission. For this reason, it is suggested that the government requires some immediate steps of the USA to control the harmful effect of such financial development, more urbanization, and higher natural resource rent as well. This would indicate the reflection of some green strategies in all three explanatory variables to generate some fruitful environmental outcomes.
    MeSH terms: Natural Resources; Carbon*; Carbon Dioxide; Urbanization*; Economic Development
  10. Zhang JW, Howell RT, Januchowski JA, Ramis T, Mello Z, Monroy M
    J Pers, 2023 Jun;91(3):667-682.
    PMID: 35929345 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12766
    INTRODUCTION: Despite broad consensus about multicultural experience's benefits, there is a lack of research on the antecedents to multicultural experiences. Research has indicated that awe shifts attention away from the self toward larger entities, which could include elements of other cultures.

    METHODS: Four studies (N = 2915) tested whether trait, daily, and induced awe promoted multicultural experience.

    RESULTS: Studies 1-2 (adolescents, young, middle, and older adults) showed that trait awe predicted greater multicultural identity and experience independent of other positive emotions and openness. Study 3 (students & adults in U.S. & Malaysia) demonstrated that daily awe predicted more daily multicultural experience independent of yesterday's multicultural experience. These results were explained by trait and daily curiosity. Study 4 (adults) found that induction of awe increased state multicultural identity and experience via state curious emotions and then state curious personality.

    CONCLUSION: We found that experiencing more awe can be a tool for enhancing the multicultural experience. The discussion focuses on the implications for future research on awe and multicultural experiences.

    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Aged; Emotions*; Exploratory Behavior*; Humans; Personality; Personality Disorders; Students/psychology
  11. Marc I, Boutin A, Pronovost E, Perez Herrera NM, Guillot M, Bergeron F, et al.
    JAMA Netw Open, 2023 Mar 01;6(3):e233934.
    PMID: 36943265 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.3934
    IMPORTANCE: High-dose docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, may affect the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). However, high-level summative evidence supporting such clinical association in very preterm infants is lacking.

    OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between enteral supplementation with high-dose DHA during the neonatal period and the risk of BPD in preterm infants born at less than 29 weeks' gestation.

    DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, medRxiv, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception to August 1, 2022, for eligible articles with no language restrictions.

    STUDY SELECTION: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were eligible for inclusion (1) if their interventions involved direct administration of a minimum DHA supplementation of 40 mg/kg/d or breast milk or formula feeding of at least 0.4% of total fatty acids, and (2) if they reported data on either BPD, death, BPD severity, or a combined outcome of BPD and death.

    DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two investigators completed independent review of titles and abstracts, full text screening, data extraction, and quality assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0. Risk ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs were pooled using random-effect meta-analyses.

    MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcome was BPD using trial-specific definitions, which was further stratified for RCTs that used a more stringent BPD definition based on systematic pulse oximetry assessment at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age. Other outcomes were BPD, death, BPD severity, or combined BPD and death.

    RESULTS: Among the 2760 studies screened, 4 RCTs were included, which involved 2304 infants (1223 boys [53.1%]; mean [SD] gestational age, 26.5 [1.6] weeks). Enteral supplementation with high-dose DHA was associated with neither BPD (4 studies [n = 2186 infants]; RR, 1.07 [95% CI, 0.86-1.34]; P = .53; I2 = 72%) nor BPD or death (4 studies [n = 2299 infants]; RR, 1.04 [95% CI, 0.91-1.18]; P = .59; I2 = 61%). However, an inverse association with BPD was found in RCTs that used a more stringent BPD definition (2 studies [n = 1686 infants]; RR, 1.20 [95% CI, 1.01-1.42]; P = .04; I2 = 48%). Additionally, DHA was inversely associated with moderate-to-severe BPD (3 studies [n = 1892 infants]; RR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.04-1.29]; P = .008; I2 = 0%).

    CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results of this study showed that enteral supplementation with high-dose DHA in the neonatal period was not associated overall with BPD, but an inverse association was found in the included RCTs that used a more stringent BPD definition. These findings suggest that high-dose DHA supplementation should not be recommended to prevent BPD in very preterm infants.

    MeSH terms: Adult; Docosahexaenoic Acids/therapeutic use; Female; Fetal Growth Retardation/drug therapy; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Male; Dietary Supplements
  12. Akram MW, Yang S, Hafeez M, Kaium MA, Zahan I, Salahodjaev R
    PMID: 37022542 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-26680-4
    Eco-innovations are widely considered the best possible solution to fight the menace of environmental degradation. Therefore, in this analysis, we try to examine the impact of eco-innovations and environmental entrepreneurship on SME performance in China from 1998 to 2020. In order to get the short- and long-run estimates, we have employed the QARDL model that can estimate across various quantiles. The findings of the QARDL model confirm the positive impact of eco-innovations in increasing the number of SMEs in the long run, as the estimates attached to eco-innovations are positive and significant across most quantiles. Similarly, the estimates attached to financial development and institutional quality are positively significant across most quantiles. However, in the short run, the results are inconclusive for almost all variables. As far as the asymmetric impact of eco-innovations on SMEs is concerned, it is confirmed both in the short and long run. However, the asymmetric impacts of financial development and institutional quality on SMEs are only confirmed in the long run. Based on the results, important policy suggestions are discussed.
  13. Chuah SH, Md Sari NA, Tan LK, Chiam YK, Chan BT, Abdul Aziz YF, et al.
    J Cardiovasc Transl Res, 2023 Oct;16(5):1110-1122.
    PMID: 37022611 DOI: 10.1007/s12265-023-10375-9
    Left ventricular adaptations can be a complex process under the influence of aortic stenosis (AS) and comorbidities. This study proposed and assessed the feasibility of using a motion-corrected personalized 3D + time LV modeling technique to evaluate the adaptive and maladaptive LV response to aid treatment decision-making. A total of 22 AS patients were analyzed and compared against 10 healthy subjects. The 3D + time analysis showed a highly distinct and personalized pattern of remodeling in individual AS patients which is associated with comorbidities and fibrosis. Patients with AS alone showed better wall thickening and synchrony than those comorbid with hypertension. Ischemic heart disease in AS caused impaired wall thickening and synchrony and systolic function. Apart from showing significant correlations to echocardiography and clinical MRI measurements (r: 0.70-0.95; p 
    MeSH terms: Aortic Valve Stenosis*; Echocardiography; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Ventricular Function, Left/physiology
  14. Gan PT, Lim YY, Ting ASY
    Folia Microbiol (Praha), 2023 Oct;68(5):741-755.
    PMID: 37022636 DOI: 10.1007/s12223-023-01050-2
    The influence of light regulation on the growth and enzyme production of three endolichenic fungal isolates, i.e. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae (EF13), Fusarium solani (EF5), and Xylaria venustula (PH22), was determined. The isolates were exposed to blue, red, green, yellow, white fluorescent light (12 h light-12 h dark photoperiod) (test), and 24 h dark (control) conditions. Results revealed that the alternating light-dark conditions resulted in the formation of dark rings in most fungal isolates but was absent in PH22. Red light induced sporulation while yellow light elicited higher biomass in all isolates (0.19 ± 0.01 g, 0.07 ± 0.00 g, and 0.11 ± 0.00 g, for EF13, PH22, and EF5, respectively) as compared to incubation in the dark. Results also showed that blue light induced higher amylase activity in PH22 (15.31 ± 0.45 U/mL) and L-asparaginase activity in all isolates (0.45 ± 0.01 U/mL, 0.55 ± 0.39 U/mL, and 0.38 ± 0.01 U/mL, for EF13, PH22, and EF5, respectively) compared to both control conditions. Green light enhanced the production of xylanase (6.57 ± 0.42 U/mL, 10.64 ± 0.12 U/mL, and 7.55 ± 0.56 U/mL for EF13, PH22, and EF5, respectively) and cellulase (6.49 ± 0.48 U/mL, 9.57 ± 0.25 U/mL, and 7.28 ± 0.63 U/mL, for EF13, PH22, and EF5, respectively). In contrast, red light was the least effective light treatment as production of enzymes was the least, with lower levels of amylase, cellulase, xylanase, and L-asparaginase detected. To conclude, all three endolichenic fungi are light-responsive, with fungal growth regulated with the use of red light and yellow light, and manipulation of enzyme production via blue and green light.
    MeSH terms: Amylases; Asparaginase*; Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases; Cellulases*
  15. Pivot X, Cortés J, Lüftner D, Lyman GH, Curigliano G, Bondarenko IM, et al.
    JAMA Netw Open, 2023 Apr 03;6(4):e235822.
    PMID: 37022687 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.5822
    IMPORTANCE: Trastuzumab has been the standard of care for the treatment of patients with ERBB2-positive breast cancer; however, cardiac events have been reported. This long-term follow-up study provides clinical evidence supporting the similarity of a trastuzumab biosimilar (SB3) to reference trastuzumab (TRZ).

    OBJECTIVE: To compare cardiac safety and efficacy between SB3 and TRZ for patients with ERBB2-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer after up to 6 years of follow-up.

    DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This prespecified secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial, conducted from April 2016 to January 2021, included patients with ERBB2-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer from a multicenter double-blind, parallel-group, equivalence phase 3 randomized clinical trial of SB3 vs TRZ with concomitant neoadjuvant chemotherapy who completed neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment.

    INTERVENTIONS: In the original trial, patients were randomized to either SB3 or TRZ with concomitant neoadjuvant chemotherapy for 8 cycles (4 cycles of docetaxel followed by 4 cycles of fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide). After surgery, patients continued SB3 or TRZ monotherapy for 10 cycles of adjuvant treatment per previous treatment allocation. Following neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment, patients were monitored for up to 5 years.

    MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcomes were the incidence of symptomatic congestive heart failure and asymptomatic, significant decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The secondary outcomes were event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS).

    RESULTS: A total of 538 female patients were included (median age, 51 years [range, 22-65 years]). Baseline characteristics were comparable between the SB3 and TRZ groups. Cardiac safety was monitored for 367 patients (SB3, n = 186; TRZ, n = 181). Median follow-up was 68 months (range, 8.5-78.1 months). Asymptomatic, clinically significant LVEF decreases were rarely reported (SB3, 1 patient [0.4%]; TRZ, 2 [0.7%]). No patient experienced symptomatic cardiac failure or death due to a cardiovascular event. Survival was evaluated for the 367 patients in the cardiac safety cohort and an additional 171 patients enrolled after a protocol amendment (538 patients [SB3, n = 267; TRZ, n = 271]). No difference was observed in EFS or OS between treatment groups (EFS: hazard ratio [HR], 0.84; 95% CI, 0.58-1.20; P = .34; OS: HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.36-1.05; P = .07). Five-year EFS rates were 79.8% (95% CI, 74.8%-84.9%) in the SB3 group and 75.0% (95% CI, 69.7%-80.3%) in the TRZ group, and OS rates were 92.5% (95% CI, 89.2%-95.7%) in the SB3 group and 85.4% (95% CI, 81.0%-89.7%) in the TRZ group.

    CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial, SB3 demonstrated cardiac safety and survival comparable to those of TRZ after up to 6 years of follow-up in patients with ERBB2-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02771795.

    MeSH terms: Trastuzumab/adverse effects; Breast Neoplasms*; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Middle Aged; Stroke Volume; Ventricular Function, Left; Receptor, ErbB-2
  16. Greatrex JE
    Med Anthropol, 2023 May 19;42(4):340-353.
    PMID: 37022723 DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2023.2185887
    In this article, I examine epidemiological research into scrub typhus in British Malaya between 1924 and 1974. Interwar research, I show, explained the incidence of the disease through conjunctions of rats, mites, plantations, lalang grass, and "jungle." In the process, interwar researchers bridged a novel scientific vocabulary centering on disease "reservoirs" with older suspicions of plantations enabling "pests," as well as with a later, explicitly ecological understanding of infectious disease. In exploring this history I thereby help to re-historicize the emergence of ecological notions of disease reservoirs, whilst also pushing at the limit-points of influential notions of "tropicality."
    MeSH terms: Animals; Disease Reservoirs; Humans; Malaysia; Rats; Anthropology, Medical
  17. Natasha JA, Yasmin AR, Sharma RSK, Nur-Fazila SH, Nur-Mahiza MI, Arshad SS, et al.
    PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2023 Apr;17(4):e0011255.
    PMID: 37023172 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011255
    Being a tropical country with a conducive environment for mosquitoes, mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue, chikungunya, lymphatic filariasis, malaria, and Japanese encephalitis are prevalent in Malaysia. Recent studies reported asymptomatic infection of West Nile virus (WNV) in animals and humans, but none of the studies included mosquitoes, except for one report made half a century ago. Considering the scarcity of information, our study sampled mosquitoes near migratory bird stopover wetland areas of West Coast Malaysia located in the Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary and Kapar Energy Venture, during the southward migration period in October 2017 and September 2018. Our previous publication reported that migratory birds were positive for WNV antibody and RNA. Using a nested RT-PCR analysis, WNV RNA was detected in 35 (12.8%) out of 285 mosquito pools consisting of 2,635 mosquitoes, most of which were Culex spp. (species). Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the sequences grouped within lineage 2 and shared 90.12%-97.01% similarity with sequences found locally as well as those from Africa, Germany, Romania, Italy, and Israel. Evidence of WNV in the mosquitoes substantiates the need for continued surveillance of WNV in Malaysia.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Birds; Culex*; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Culicidae*; Phylogeny; RNA; West Nile Fever*; Mosquito Vectors
  18. da Silva CFA, Virgüez E, Eker S, Zdenek CN, Bergh C, Gerarduzzi C, et al.
    Science, 2023 Apr 07;380(6640):30-32.
    PMID: 37023192 DOI: 10.1126/science.adh8182
    MeSH terms: Societies*; Societies, Scientific*
  19. Wang Y, Liu X, Dong L, Cheng KK, Lin C, Wang X, et al.
    Anal Chem, 2023 Apr 18;95(15):6203-6211.
    PMID: 37023366 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04603
    Drug combinations are commonly used to treat various diseases to achieve synergistic therapeutic effects or to alleviate drug resistance. Nevertheless, some drug combinations might lead to adverse effects, and thus, it is crucial to explore the mechanisms of drug interactions before clinical treatment. Generally, drug interactions have been studied using nonclinical pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and pharmacology. Here, we propose a complementary strategy based on metabolomics, which we call interaction metabolite set enrichment analysis, or iMSEA, to decipher drug interactions. First, a digraph-based heterogeneous network model was constructed to model the biological metabolic network based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. Second, treatment-specific influences on all detected metabolites were calculated and propagated across the whole network model. Third, pathway activity was defined and enriched to quantify the influence of each treatment on the predefined functional metabolite sets, i.e., metabolic pathways. Finally, drug interactions were identified by comparing the pathway activity enriched by the drug combination treatments and the single drug treatments. A data set consisting of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells that were treated with oxaliplatin (OXA) and/or vitamin C (VC) was used to illustrate the effectiveness of the iMSEA strategy for evaluation of drug interactions. Performance evaluation using synthetic noise data was also performed to evaluate sensitivities and parameter settings for the iMSEA strategy. The iMSEA strategy highlighted synergistic effects of combined OXA and VC treatments including the alterations in the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism pathway. This work provides an alternative method to reveal the mechanisms of drug combinations from the viewpoint of metabolomics.
    MeSH terms: Drug Interactions; Humans; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Metabolomics/methods
  20. Mazarji M, Bayero MT, Minkina T, Sushkova S, Mandzhieva S, Bauer TV, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Jul 01;880:163330.
    PMID: 37023818 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163330
    Biochar can be used for soil remediation in environmentally beneficial manner, especially when combined with nanomaterials. After a decade of research, still, no comprehensive review was conducted on the effectiveness of biochar-based nanocomposites in controlling heavy metal immobilization at soil interfaces. In this paper, the recent progress in immobilizing heavy metals using biochar-based nanocomposite materials were reviewed and compared their efficacy against that of biochar alone. In details, an overview of results on the immobilization of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, and As was presented by different nanocomposites made by various biochars derived from kenaf bar, green tea, residual bark, cornstalk, wheat straw, sawdust, palm fiber, and bagasse. Biochar nanocomposite was found to be most effective when combined with metallic nanoparticles (Fe3O4 and FeS) and carbonaceous nanomaterials (graphene oxide and chitosan). This study also devoted special consideration to different remediation mechanisms by which the nanomaterials affect the effectiveness of the immobilization process. The effects of nanocomposites on soil characteristics related to pollution migration, phytotoxicity, and soil microbial composition were assessed. A future perspective on nanocomposites' use in contaminated soils was presented.
    MeSH terms: Cadmium; Charcoal; Soil; Nanostructures*
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