MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 21-point electronic survey (Federation of Asian Radiation Oncology Research Network [FERN]-S-005) was designed by the FERN and was circulated through the FARO research secretariat to the FARO council member countries and the responses were collected between August and November 2023.
RESULTS: Twelve of 14 member countries (85.7%) responded to the survey. Twenty-seven responses were received and 78% of the respondents belonged to government/teaching academic institute. 4/27 (14.8%) reported never using HYPO-RT for any of the clinical subsite of HNCs, while the majority (85.2%) used it for glottic cancers and 22% also used it for postoperative setting. Majority (77.7%) used a fractionation schedule with dose per fraction ranging between 2.2 and 2.5 Gy. 6/27 (22.2%) used AFRT for definitive setting and five of these also used concurrent chemoradiotherapy. 4/27 (14.8%) centers reported using HFRT. The most common reason (62.9%) for the limited usage of AFRT/HFRT was reported to be logistical, such as unavailability of machine slots, patient load, and so on.
CONCLUSION: The result of the survey suggests that among the ALFT strategies for HNCs, HYPO-RT schedules have common interest and feasibility among the FARO member countries and also highlights the challenges in the delivery of AFRT/HFRT in the Asian region.
METHODS: A direct drug loading approach in the HMN matrix was introduced in this work following a pH modification step. The effect of pH modification on the physicochemical properties of HMN was studied. Then, bovine serum albumin (BSA), a model protein, was loaded into the pH-modified HMN, and the morphological changes in HMN and protein stability were also assessed. Finally, the efficacy of BSA-loaded HMN in the transdermal delivery was evaluated ex vivo.
RESULTS: A significant increase in swelling was recorded following the pH modification of HMN (p < 0.001). The structure of pH-modified hydrogel was highly porous, and ATR-FTIR spectra indicated a shift in the carboxylic peak. The secondary structure of BSA loaded in the pH-modified HMN was also preserved. The BSA-loaded HMN mediated a sustained ex-vivo drug release with a cumulative release of 64.70% (3.88 mg) in 24 h.
CONCLUSION: Hence, the model drug-incorporated PMVE/MA HMN system shows potential for sustainable transdermal delivery of proteins.
METHODS: The antiproliferative activity of TQ-PLGA-PF68 nanoparticles was measured using the MTS assay. The cytotoxic effects were further evaluated through colony formation assay and scratch-wound healing assay. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed to determine the characteristics of the apoptosis as well as cell cycle arrest induced by TQ-PLGA-PF68 nanoparticles. The localization of these nanoparticles in the cells was examined using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).
RESULTS: With a TQ concentration of 58.5 μM encapsulated within the nanoparticles, cytotoxicity analysis revealed a significant inhibition of cell proliferation (p<0.05). This finding was corroborated by the results of the colony formation assay. Treatment with TQ-PLGA-PF68 nanoparticles significantly decreased the number of surviving TamR MCF-7 cells by 35% (p<0.001) compared to untreated TamR MCF-7 cells. Concurrently, the scratch-wound healing assay indicated a closure rate of 50% versus >80% (p<0.05) in untreated TamR MCF-7 cells at 12 hours post-wounding. The TUNEL assay successfully confirmed the apoptosis characteristics associated with cell cycle arrest. TEM observation confirmed the cellular internalization of these nanoparticles, suggesting the in vitro therapeutic potential of the formulation.
CONCLUSION: In this study, a significant functional change in TamR MCF-7 cells induced by the TQ nanoparticles was observed. The unique incorporation of TQ into the PLGA-PEG and Pluronics F68 formulation preserved its bioactivity, thereby reducing the migratory and proliferative traits of drug-resistant cells. This discovery may pave the way for exploring the application of biocompatible polymeric TQ nanoparticles as a novel therapeutic approach in future studies pertaining to resistant breast cancer.
METHOD: The current study used 9,013 children under five years old. An ordinal logistic regression (e.g., proportional odds model) was applied to determine the associated risk factors of being underweight. The current study used SAS software version 9.4 at the 5% significance level.
RESULTS: The prevalence of underweight was 25.3%. Variables such as children's sex, place of residence, whether the child is twin at birth, breastfeeding status, size of children at birth, childbirth order, employment status of mothers, parents' educational level, children's age groups, the incidence of diarrhea in the past two weeks, and baby fortified food were statistically associated with underweight among under-five age in years.
CONCLUSIONS: Underweight among under-five children is predicted by place of residence. In addition, there is a regional disparity of underweight among children. Therefore, further effort is needed to improve health education in children's welfare and health facilities to enhance patients' understanding of proper information and feeding.
METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for studies evaluating the GNRI in patients with ACS. Inclusion criteria were observational studies reporting all-cause mortality or major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) among ACS patients categorized by low versus normal GNRI. Data extraction and quality assessment were independently performed by two authors, utilizing a random-effects model to account for potential heterogeneity.
RESULTS: Eleven cohort studies, encompassing 18 616 patients with ACS, were included. A low GNRI was associated with significantly increased risks of all-cause mortality (RR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.63-2.34; P 0.05). Sensitivity analyses conducted by sequentially excluding individual studies confirmed the stability of these results.
CONCLUSION: A low GNRI at the time of admission is a significant predictor of increased all-cause mortality and MACEs in patients with ACS.
METHODS: The translation, validation, and reliability assessment process followed guidelines from the World Health Organization, with adaptations from Sousa and Rojjanasrirat's recommendations. The process encompassed five steps: forward translation, harmonisation of the forward translation, backward translation, pretesting and cognitive interviews, and psychometric testing to assess the validity and reliability.
RESULTS: The Malay version of the MOQ (MOQ-M) demonstrated excellent item-level face validity index (I-FVI) and average scale-level face validity index (S-FVI/Ave), both scoring a perfect 1.00. Additionally, it exhibited excellent item-level content validity index (I-CVI) and average scale-level content validity (S-CVI/Ave), with scores ranging from 0.90 to 1.00 and 0.99 to 1.00, respectively. Internal consistency, measured using Cronbach's alpha, surpassed the minimum threshold for good reliability, with all three average scales in MOQ-M scoring between 0.84 and 0.99. Weighted average Cohen's Kappa coefficient revealed substantial agreement in the test-retest reliability across the three scales.
CONCLUSION: The MOQ-M is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing meaningful time use among Malay-speaking older persons in Malaysia.
CONSUMER AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: There was no consumer and community involvement in this study.
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This study aimed to translate the Modified Occupational Questionnaire (MOQ) into Bahasa Melayu (MOQ-M). The MOQ is a tool used by occupational therapists to understand how unemployed people spend their time and the reasons they are doing it. The translation was necessary because the original version of the MOQ was developed in an English-speaking country and might not be suitable for the Malay-speaking population in Malaysia due to cultural differences. A careful process was followed to make sure the translation was accurate and reliable. The translated version, MOQ-M, was then tested with older persons, most of whom were unemployed, to learn about their daily activities and the reasons for doing them. Understanding their daily routines is important for predicting their health and well-being. The results showed that the MOQ-M worked well, providing useful and consistent information. This means that the tool is reliable and can be trusted to measure how older persons spend their time and what activities are important to them. With this information, programmes can be created to better support older persons, helping them live healthier and happier lives as they age. However, it is important to note that most of the study participants were Malay, so this may not fully represent the different cultural groups in Malaysia.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-025-04213-9.
METHODS: Clinical data, including age at symptom onset, was collected from 289 patients who presented to our multidisciplinary clinic from 2016 until 2024. A least squares linear regression model was constructed from the logarithm of approximated incidence and the logarithm of age. Population incidence was approximated by adjusting the absolute numbers of patients in 5 year groups by the size of the general population in the respective age group.
RESULTS: A linear relationship between log of incidence versus log of age was observed, with a slope of 4.57 (95% CI, 3.3-5.8) and an r2 value of 0.93, suggesting a 6-step process.
CONCLUSION: Progression toward symptom onset in Malaysian ALS patients appears consistent with a multistep model of disease as observed in other cohorts.
METHODS: A descriptive analysis of bibliographic data and network visualization were conducted using Microsoft Excel and VosViewer, focusing on literature published in the Scopus database between 1994 and 2023 and using "title" as the search field.
RESULTS: For the study period, the following were identified: 1429 authors, 5858 total citations, and an h-index of 36. From a total of 2058 publications discovered, 363 publications were included in the study. Of these, only 11 articles addressed nonpharmacological management for people with LDs. In terms of the research country, the United Kingdom was the leading contributor, with 56 publications. Ad de Jongh was the most productive author, with 13 publications and 447 citations. The most highly cited paper was Lehrner et al. (2005), with 312 citations.
CONCLUSION: This study determined the number of publications related to nonpharmacological management of DA over three decades. The number of studies involving people with LDs was lower than that involving the general population, suggesting future research should occur in this area.
METHOD: This retrospective study involved singleton pregnancies at University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia, developed a nuchal thickness chart and evaluated its predictive value for small-for-gestational-age using Malaysian and Singapore cohorts. Predictive performance using conjunctive (AND)/disjunctive (OR) rule-based algorithms was assessed. Seven machine learning models were trained on Malaysia data and evaluated on both Malaysia and Singapore cohorts.
RESULTS: 5519 samples were collected from the University Malaya Medical Centre. Small-for-gestational-age infants exhibit significantly lower nuchal thickness (small-for-gestational-age: 4.57 [1.04] mm, appropriate-for-gestational-age: 4.86 [1.06] mm, p