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Three new species and a new record of the spider genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 from Brunei (Araneae, Zodariidae)

Dankittipakul P, Koh JK, Singtripop T

Zootaxa, 2014;3826(2):377-85.
PMID: 24990054 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3826.2.7

This article is the first formal record of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 in Brunei Darussalam. Four Mallinella species are documented. Mallinella merimbunenis sp. nov., M. myrmecophaga sp. nov., and M. platyrhyncha sp. nov. are newly described. The females of M. bigemina Dankittipakul, Jocqué & Singtripop, 2012 are here recorded from Brunei for the first time. The latter species was previously known only from an evergreen hill forest at 2,000 m elevation at Mt. Kinabalu of Kinabalu Park in Sabah.
Fulltext Nipah virus epidemic in southern India and emphasizing "One Health" approach to ensure global health security

Chattu VK, Kumar R, Kumary S, Kajal F, David JK

J Family Med Prim Care, 2018 8 10;7(2):275-283.
PMID: 30090764 DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_137_18

Nipah virus (NiV) encephalitis first reported in "Sungai Nipah" in Malaysia in 1999 has emerged as a global public health threat in the Southeast Asia region. From 1998 to 2018, more than 630 cases of NiV human infections were reported. NiV is transmitted by zoonotic (from bats to humans, or from bats to pigs, and then to humans) as well as human-to-human routes. Deforestation and urbanization of some areas have contributed to greater overlap between human and bat habitats resulting in NiV outbreaks. Common symptoms of NiV infection in humans are similar to that of influenza such as fever and muscle pain and in some cases, the inflammation of the brain occurs leading to encephalitis. The recent epidemic in May 2018 in Kerala for the first time has killed over 17 people in 7 days with high case fatality and highlighted the importance of One Health approach. The diagnosis is often not suspected at the time of presentation and creates challenges in outbreak detection, timely control measures, and outbreak response activities. Currently, there are no drugs or vaccines specific for NiV infection although this is a priority disease on the World Health Organization's agenda. Antivirals (Ribavirin, HR2-based fusion inhibitor), biologicals (convalescent plasma, monoclonal antibodies), immunomodulators, and intensive supportive care are the mainstay to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications. There is a great need for strengthening animal health surveillance system, using a One Health approach, to detect new cases and provide early warning for veterinary and human public health authorities.
Fulltext Taxonomic notes on the armored spiders of the families Pacullidae and Tetrablemmidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Singapore

Lin Y, Koh JKH, Koponen S, Li S

Zookeys, 2017.
PMID: 28769602 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.661.10677

Eight species of armored spiders belonging to two families, Pacullidae Simon, 1894 and Tetrablemmidae O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873, are reported from Singapore. Five species are documented as new to science: Paculla bukittimahensis Lin & Li, sp. n. (male and female), Paculla globosa Lin & Li, sp. n. (male and female), Ablemma malacca Lin & Li, sp. n. (male and female), Singaporemma lenachanae Lin & Li, sp. n. (male and female), and Sulaimania brevis Lin & Li, sp. n. (male). The three known species are Brignoliella besutensis Lin, Li & Jäger, 2012, Brignoliella michaeli Lehtinen, 1981, and Singaporemma singulare Shear, 1978, of which the female of Brignoliella besutensis is described for the first time. For comparison, types of Singaporemma adjacens Lehtinen, 1981 from Vietnam, Singaporemma halongense Lehtinen, 1981 from Vietnam, Singaporemma singulare from Singapore and Sulaimania vigelandi Lehtinen, 1981 from Malaysia are studied and photographed.
Fulltext Vacuum/compression valving (VCV) using parrafin-wax on a centrifugal microfluidic CD platform

Al-Faqheri W, Ibrahim F, Thio TH, Moebius J, Joseph K, Arof H, et al.

PLoS One, 2013;8(3):e58523.
PMID: 23505528 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058523

This paper introduces novel vacuum/compression valves (VCVs) utilizing paraffin wax. A VCV is implemented by sealing the venting channel/hole with wax plugs (for normally-closed valve), or to be sealed by wax (for normally-open valve), and is activated by localized heating on the CD surface. We demonstrate that the VCV provides the advantages of avoiding unnecessary heating of the sample/reagents in the diagnostic process, allowing for vacuum sealing of the CD, and clear separation of the paraffin wax from the sample/reagents in the microfluidic process. As a proof of concept, the microfluidic processes of liquid flow switching and liquid metering is demonstrated with the VCV. Results show that the VCV lowers the required spinning frequency to perform the microfluidic processes with high accuracy and ease of control.
Fulltext Design and Development of Micro-Power Generating Device for Biomedical Applications of Lab-on-a-Disc

Joseph K, Ibrahim F, Cho J, Thio TH, Al-Faqheri W, Madou M

PLoS One, 2015;10(9):e0136519.
PMID: 26422249 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136519

The development of micro-power generators for centrifugal microfluidic discs enhances the platform as a green point-of-care diagnostic system and eliminates the need for attaching external peripherals to the disc. In this work, we present micro-power generators that harvest energy from the disc's rotational movement to power biomedical applications on the disc. To implement these ideas, we developed two types of micro-power generators using piezoelectric films and an electromagnetic induction system. The piezoelectric-based generator takes advantage of the film's vibration during the disc's rotational motion, whereas the electromagnetic induction-based generator operates on the principle of current generation in stacks of coil exposed to varying magnetic flux. We have successfully demonstrated that at the spinning speed of 800 revolutions per minute (RPM) the piezoelectric film-based generator is able to produce up to 24 microwatts using 6 sets of films and the magnetic induction-based generator is capable of producing up to 125 milliwatts using 6 stacks of coil. As a proof of concept, a custom made localized heating system was constructed to test the capability of the magnetic induction-based generator. The heating system was able to achieve a temperature of 58.62 °C at 2200 RPM. This development of lab-on-a-disc micro power generators preserves the portability standards and enhances the future biomedical applications of centrifugal microfluidic platforms.
Fulltext A novel microfluidic compact disc to investigate electrochemical property changes between artificial and real salivary samples mixed with mouthwashes using electrical impedance analysis

Thiha A, Ibrahim F, Joseph K, Petrović B, Kojić S, Dahlan NA, et al.

PLoS One, 2023;18(2):e0280381.
PMID: 36795661 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280381

Diagnosing oral diseases at an early stage may lead to better preventive treatments, thus reducing treatment burden and costs. This paper introduces a systematic design of a microfluidic compact disc (CD) consisting of six unique chambers that run simultaneously from sample loading, holding, mixing and analysis. In this study, the electrochemical property changes between real saliva and artificial saliva mixed with three different types of mouthwashes (i.e. chlorhexidine-, fluoride- and essential oil (Listerine)-based mouthwashes) were investigated using electrical impedance analysis. Given the diversity and complexity of patient's salivary samples, we investigated the electrochemical impedance property of healthy real saliva mixed with different types of mouthwashes to understand the different electrochemical property which could be a foundation for diagnosis and monitoring of oral diseases. On the other hand, electrochemical impedance property of artificial saliva, a commonly used moisturizing agent and lubricant for the treatment of xerostomia or dry mouth syndrome was also studied. The findings indicate that artificial saliva and fluoride-based mouthwash showed higher conductance values compared to real saliva and two other different types of mouthwashes. The ability of our new microfluidic CD platform to perform multiplex processes and detection of electrochemical property of different types of saliva and mouthwashes is a fundamental concept for future research on salivary theranostics using point-of-care microfluidic CD platform.
Fulltext Examining the Impacts of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Mitigation Policies on Health Outcomes of Older Adults: Lessons Learned From Six High-Income or Middle-Income Countries

Pushpalata Zanwar P, Perianayagam A, Zazdravnykh E, Omar Z, Vinod Joseph KJ, Santos FH, et al.

Public Policy Aging Rep, 2022;32(4):121-130.
PMID: 36349280 DOI: 10.1093/ppar/prac023
Oncologist-led BRCA counselling improves access to cancer genetic testing in middle-income Asian country, with no significant impact on psychosocial outcomes

Yoon SY, Wong SW, Lim J, Ahmad S, Mariapun S, Padmanabhan H, et al.

J Med Genet, 2022 Mar;59(3):220-229.
PMID: 33526602 DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2020-107416

BACKGROUND: Identifying patients with BRCA mutations is clinically important to inform on the potential response to treatment and for risk management of patients and their relatives. However, traditional referral routes may not meet clinical needs, and therefore, mainstreaming cancer genetics has been shown to be effective in some high-income and high health-literacy settings. To date, no study has reported on the feasibility of mainstreaming in low-income and middle-income settings, where the service considerations and health literacy could detrimentally affect the feasibility of mainstreaming.
METHODS: The Mainstreaming Genetic Counselling for Ovarian Cancer Patients (MaGiC) study is a prospective, two-arm observational study comparing oncologist-led and genetics-led counselling. This study included 790 multiethnic patients with ovarian cancer from 23 sites in Malaysia. We compared the impact of different method of delivery of genetic counselling on the uptake of genetic testing and assessed the feasibility, knowledge and satisfaction of patients with ovarian cancer.
RESULTS: Oncologists were satisfied with the mainstreaming experience, with 95% indicating a desire to incorporate testing into their clinical practice. The uptake of genetic testing was similar in the mainstreaming and genetics arm (80% and 79%, respectively). Patient satisfaction was high, whereas decision conflict and psychological impact were low in both arms of the study. Notably, decisional conflict, although lower than threshold, was higher for the mainstreaming group compared with the genetics arm. Overall, 13.5% of patients had a pathogenic variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2, and there was no difference between psychosocial measures for carriers in both arms.
CONCLUSION: The MaGiC study demonstrates that mainstreaming cancer genetics is feasible in low-resource and middle-resource Asian setting and increased coverage for genetic testing.