Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 87 in total

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  1. Tan SY, Arshad H, Abdullah A
    PLoS One, 2019;14(1):e0207191.
    PMID: 30605474 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207191
    Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) requires a descriptor that is robust to changes in viewing conditions in real time application. Many different descriptors had been proposed in the literature for example floating-point descriptors (SIFT and SURF) and binary descriptors (BRIEF, ORB, BRISK and FREAK). According to literature, floating-point descriptors are not suitable for real-time application because its operating speed does not satisfy real-time constraints. Binary descriptors have been developed with compact sizes and lower computation requirements. However, it is unclear which binary descriptors are more appropriate for MAR. Hence, a distinctive and efficient accuracy measurement of four state-of-the-art binary descriptors, namely, BRIEF, ORB, BRISK and FREAK were performed using the Mikolajczyk dataset and ALOI dataset to identify the most appropriate descriptor for MAR in terms of computation time and robustness to brightness, scale and rotation changes. The obtained results showed that FREAK is the most appropriate descriptor for MAR application as it able to produce an application that are efficient (shortest computation time) and robust towards scale, rotation and brightness changes.
  2. Khor GL, Tan SY, Tan KL, Chan PS, Amarra MS
    Nutrients, 2016 Dec 01;8(12).
    PMID: 27916932
    BACKGROUND: The 2010 World Health Organisation (WHO) Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) indicators are useful for monitoring feeding practices.

    METHODS: A total sample of 300 subjects aged 6 to 23 months was recruited from urban suburbs of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. Compliance with each IYCF indicator was computed according to WHO recommendations. Dietary intake based on two-day weighed food records was obtained from a sub-group (N = 119) of the total sample. The mean adequacy ratio (MAR) value was computed as an overall measure of dietary intake adequacy. Contributions of core IYCF indicators to MAR were determined by multinomial logistic regression.

    RESULTS: Generally, the subjects showed high compliance for (i) timely introduction of complementary foods at 6 to 8 months (97.9%); (ii) minimum meal frequency among non-breastfed children aged 6 to 23 months (95.2%); (iii) consumption of iron-rich foods at 6 to 23 months (92.3%); and minimum dietary diversity (78.0%). While relatively high proportions achieved the recommended intake levels for protein (87.4%) and iron (71.4%), lower proportions attained the recommendations for calcium (56.3%) and energy (56.3%). The intake of micronutrients was generally poor. The minimum dietary diversity had the greatest contribution to MAR (95% CI: 3.09, 39.87) (p = 0.000) among the core IYCF indicators.

    CONCLUSION: Malaysian urban infants and toddlers showed moderate to high compliance with WHO IYCF indicators. The robustness of the analytical approach in this study in quantifying contributions of IYCF indicators to MAR should be further investigated.

  3. Ting CY, Gan GG, Bee-Lan Ong D, Tan SY, Bee PC
    Int J Clin Pract, 2020 Oct;74(10):e13594.
    PMID: 32583545 DOI: 10.1111/ijcp.13594
    BACKGROUND: About 20%-30% of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients experience early disease progression despite R-CHOP chemotherapy treatment. Revised international prognostic index (R-IPI) score could risk stratify DLBCL patients but does not identify exactly which patient will be resistant to R-CHOP therapy or experience early relapse.

    AIMS OF THE STUDY: To analyse pre-treatment clinical features of DLBCL patients that are predictive of R-CHOP therapy resistance and early disease relapse after R-CHOP therapy treatment.

    METHODS USED TO CONDUCT THE STUDY: A total of 698 lymphoma patients were screened and 134 R-CHOP-treated DLBCL patients were included. The Lugano 2014 criteria was applied for assessment of treatment response. DLBCL patients were divided into R-CHOP resistance/early relapse group and R-CHOP sensitive/late relapse group.

    RESULTS OF THE STUDY: 81 of 134 (60%) were R-CHOP sensitive/late relapse, while 53 (40%) were R-CHOP resistance/early relapse. The median follow-up period was 59 months ± standard error 3.6. Five-year overall survival rate of R-CHOP resistance/early relapse group was 2.1%, while it was 89% for RCHOP sensitive/late relapse group. Having more than one extranodal site of DLBCL disease is an independent risk factor for R-CHOP resistance/early relapse [odds ratio = 5.268 (1.888-14.702), P = .002]. The commonest extranodal sites were head and neck, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system, vertebra and bones. Advanced age (>60 years), advanced disease stage (lll-lV), raised pre-treatment lactate dehydrogenase level, bone marrow involvement of DLBCL disease high Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status (2-4) and high R-IPI score (3-5) showed no significant association with R-CHOP therapy resistance/early disease relapse (multivariate analysis: P > .05).

    CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: DLBCL patients with more than one extranodal site are 5.268 times more likely to be R-CHOP therapy resistance or experience early disease relapse after R-CHOP therapy. Therefore, correlative studies are warranted in DLBCL patients with more than one extranodal site of disease to explore possible underlying mechanisms of chemoresistance.

  4. Ting CY, Liew SM, Price A, Gan GG, Bee-Lan Ong D, Tan SY, et al.
    Crit Rev Oncol Hematol, 2019 Dec;144:102818.
    PMID: 31733445 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2019.102818
    The clinical significance of aberrantly expressed microRNAs in predicting treatment response to chemotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients (DLBCL) remains uncertain. Feasibility of microRNA testing to predict treatment outcome was evaluated. Twenty-two types of aberrantly expressed microRNAs were associated with poor treatment response; pooled hazard ratio (HR) was 2.14 [95%CI:1.78-2.57, P 
  5. Li Z, Xia Y, Feng LN, Chen JR, Li HM, Cui J, et al.
    Lancet Oncol, 2016 Sep;17(9):1240-7.
    PMID: 27470079 DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(16)30148-6
    BACKGROUND: Extranodal natural killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), nasal type, is a rare and aggressive malignancy that occurs predominantly in Asian and Latin American populations. Although Epstein-Barr virus infection is a known risk factor, other risk factors and the pathogenesis of NKTCL are not well understood. We aimed to identify common genetic variants affecting individual risk of NKTCL.

    METHODS: We did a genome-wide association study of 189 patients with extranodal NKTCL, nasal type (WHO classification criteria; cases) and 957 controls from Guangdong province, southern China. We validated our findings in four independent case-control series, including 75 cases from Guangdong province and 296 controls from Hong Kong, 65 cases and 983 controls from Guangdong province, 125 cases and 1110 controls from Beijing (northern China), and 60 cases and 2476 controls from Singapore. We used imputation and conditional logistic regression analyses to fine-map the associations. We also did a meta-analysis of the replication series and of the entire dataset.

    FINDINGS: Associations exceeding the genome-wide significance threshold (p<5 × 10(-8)) were seen at 51 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping to the class II MHC region on chromosome 6, with rs9277378 (located in HLA-DPB1) having the strongest association with NKTCL susceptibility (p=4·21 × 10(-19), odds ratio [OR] 1·84 [95% CI 1·61-2·11] in meta-analysis of entire dataset). Imputation-based fine-mapping across the class II MHC region suggests that four aminoacid residues (Gly84-Gly85-Pro86-Met87) in near-complete linkage disequilibrium at the edge of the peptide-binding groove of HLA-DPB1 could account for most of the association between the rs9277378*A risk allele and NKTCL susceptibility (OR 2·38, p value for haplotype 2·32 × 10(-14)). This association is distinct from MHC associations with Epstein-Barr virus infection.

    INTERPRETATION: To our knowledge, this is the first time that a genetic variant conferring an NKTCL risk is noted at genome-wide significance. This finding underlines the importance of HLA-DP antigen presentation in the pathogenesis of NKTCL.

    FUNDING: Top-Notch Young Talents Program of China, Special Support Program of Guangdong, Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (20110171120099), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-11-0529), National Medical Research Council of Singapore (TCR12DEC005), Tanoto Foundation Professorship in Medical Oncology, New Century Foundation Limited, Ling Foundation, Singapore National Cancer Centre Research Fund, and the US National Institutes of Health (1R01AR062886, 5U01GM092691-04, and 1R01AR063759-01A1).

  6. Yap SN, Phipps ME, Manivasagar M, Tan SY, Bosco JJ
    Lupus, 1999;8(4):305-10.
    PMID: 10413210 DOI: 10.1191/096120399678847876
    SLE is an autoimmune and polygenic disorder characterized by an accumulation and deposition of immune complexes. Several studies have indicated differential impact of FcgammaR polymorphism genotypes in different ethnic groups studied. The Fc receptor for IgG class IIA gene (FcgammaRIIA) occurs in two allelic forms. The allele FcgammaRIIA-H131 encodes a receptor with a histidine at the 131 amino acid position; the other allele FcgammaRIIA-R131 encodes an arginine. This polymorphism is believed to determine the affinity of the receptor for hIgG2 in immune complexes. FcgammaRIIA-H131 has a higher capacity for hIgG2 compared to FcgammaRIIA-R131 as measured by in vitro studies of insoluble immune complex clearance. We have investigated the polymorphism for FcgammaRIIA using a novel polymerase chain reaction-allele specific primer (PCR-ASP) method designed specifically to distinguish the two allelic forms. Our studies were based on 175 Chinese and 50 Malays SLE patients as well as 108 and 50 ethnically matched healthy controls for the respective groups. Analysis of the data (chi2 test with Yates correction factors and odds ratios) revealed that there were no significant differences between SLE patients and controls. We have not found evidence of a protective effect conferred by FcgammaRIIA-H131 in the ethnic groups studied.
  7. Tan SY, Mei Wong JL, Sim YJ, Wong SS, Mohamed Elhassan SA, Tan SH, et al.
    Diabetes Metab Syndr, 2018 10 10;13(1):364-372.
    PMID: 30641727 DOI: 10.1016/j.dsx.2018.10.008
    Type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus is a serious and lifelong condition commonly characterised by abnormally elevated blood glucose levels due to a failure in insulin production or a decrease in insulin sensitivity and function. Over the years, prevalence of diabetes has increased globally and it is classified as one of the leading cause of high mortality and morbidity rate. Furthermore, diabetes confers a huge economic burden due to its management costs as well as its complications are skyrocketing. The conventional medications in diabetes treatment focusing on insulin secretion and insulin sensitisation cause unwanted side effects to patients and lead to incompliance as well as treatment failure. Besides insulin and oral hypoglycaemic agents, other treatments such as gene therapy and induced β-cells regeneration have not been widely introduced to manage diabetes. Therefore, this review aims to deliver an overview of the current conventional medications in diabetes, discovery of newer pharmacological drugs and gene therapy as a potential intervention of diabetes in the future.
  8. Salam DSDA, Thit EE, Teoh SH, Tan SY, Peh SC, Cheah SC
    J Cancer, 2020;11(1):190-198.
    PMID: 31892985 DOI: 10.7150/jca.36954
    C-MYC, BCL2 and BCL6 genes are the most commonly oncogenes involved in B-Cell lymphomas. Translocations of these oncogenes are associated with an aggressive clinical course. This study aims to elucidate the patterns of BCL6, BCL2 and C-MYC gene aberrations among Malaysian B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Eighty-one B-cell NHL tissue blocks were retrieved between the year 2011 to 2015 and investigated using immunohistochemistry and interphase FISH dual colour break-apart probes of BCL2, BCL6, C-MYC and IgH. A significant difference was detected between the nodal and extranodal sites in all the BCL2 (p=0.01), C-MYC (p=0.03) and IgH (p=0.006) cases except for BCL6 (p=0.2). Our study showed that BCL6 had the highest gene translocation while BCL2/BCL6 had the most mixed aberrations of gain copies and translocation, however no mixed aberrations of gain copies and translocation was found in C-MYC. None of the mixed gain copies and translocation was found in any of the germinal centre B-cell (GCB) subtype of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma, however, five were found in BCL6 and IgH gene in the non-GCB subtype; while mixed gain copies and translocation cases of BCL2 gene was found in the Follicular Lymphoma cases only. The study found interesting findings of BCL2, C-MYC and IgH gene aberrations between nodal and extranodal sites. This information might benefit future study in predicting prognosis and determine effective therapeutic strategies in the multi-ethnic populations of Malaysia as well as the Asian population.
  9. Ting GP, Tan SY, Chan SP, Karuthan C, Zaitun Y, Suriah AR, et al.
    J Nutr Health Aging, 2007 Jan-Feb;11(1):69-73.
    PMID: 17315084
    A previous study on a randomized controlled trial in 173 postmenopausal Chinese women in Kuala Lumpur showed that milk supplementation was effective to reduce bone loss at the total body, lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip compared to the control group on a usual diet (Chee et al. 2003).
  10. Tan SY, Praveena SM, Abidin EZ, Cheema MS
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2018 Dec;25(34):34623-34635.
    PMID: 30315534 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-3396-x
    This study aimed to determine bioavailable heavy metal concentrations (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn) and their potential sources in classroom dust collected from children's hand palms in Rawang (Malaysia). This study also aimed to determine the association between bioavailable heavy metal concentration in classroom dust and children's respiratory symptoms. Health risk assessment (HRA) was applied to evaluate health risks (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic) due to heavy metals in classroom dust. The mean of bioavailable heavy metal concentrations in classroom dust found on children's hand palms was shown in the following order: Zn (1.25E + 01 μg/g) > Cu (9.59E-01 μg/g) > Ni (5.34E-01 μg/g) > Cr (4.72E-02 μg/g) > Co (2.34E-02 μg/g) > As (1.77E-02 μg/g) > Cd (9.60E-03 μg/g) > Pb (5.00E-03 μg/g). Hierarchical cluster analysis has clustered 17 sampling locations into three clusters, whereby cluster 1 (S3, S4, S6, S15) located in residential areas and near to roads exposed to vehicle emissions, cluster 2 (S10, S12, S9, S7) located near Rawang town and cluster 3 (S13, S16, S1, S2, S8, S14, S11, S17, S5) located near industrial, residential and plantation areas. Emissions from vehicles, plantations and industrial activities were found as the main sources of heavy metals in classroom dust in Rawang. There is no association found between bioavailable heavy metal concentrations and respiratory symptoms, except for Cu (OR = 0.03). Health risks (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks) indicated that there are no potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of heavy metals in classroom dust toward children health.
  11. Tan J, Khalil MA, Tan SY, Khalil M, Ahmed D, Zinna S, et al.
    J Transplant, 2014;2014:784805.
    PMID: 25478205 DOI: 10.1155/2014/784805
    Objectives. Brunei Darussalam has a high prevalence and incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD). Up until 2012, all renal transplantations were performed in overseas centres, either as government-sponsored (living-related transplantation) or as self-sponsored (commercialized transplantation) ones. We hypothesize that graft and patient survival of Brunei renal transplant patients are on a par with international standards. Materials and Methods. Data of all renal transplant patients in Brunei were analysed over a twenty-year period from registry records and case notes. Comparative survival data from other countries were obtained from PubMed-listed literature. Results. A total of 49 transplantation procedures were performed in foreign centres between 1993 and 2012. 29 were government-sponsored and 20 were self-sponsored transplantations. The 5- and 10-year overall patient survival rates were 93.3% and 90.1%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year overall graft survival rates were 91.1% and 81.2%. There is no difference in the survival outcomes of government-sponsored and self-sponsored patients. Living-related (government-sponsored) and commercialised (self-sponsored) grafts had equivalent survival to those reported in the literature. Conclusion. Our survival data was on par with those achieved in many countries. We hope to use this information to convince local stakeholders and patients to favour transplantation as the preferred modality of RRT.
  12. Ang MY, Heydari H, Jakubovics NS, Mahmud MI, Dutta A, Wee WY, et al.
    Database (Oxford), 2014;2014.
    PMID: 25149689 DOI: 10.1093/database/bau082
    Fusobacterium are anaerobic gram-negative bacteria that have been associated with a wide spectrum of human infections and diseases. As the biology of Fusobacterium is still not well understood, comparative genomic analysis on members of this species will provide further insights on their taxonomy, phylogeny, pathogenicity and other information that may contribute to better management of infections and diseases. To facilitate the ongoing genomic research on Fusobacterium, a specialized database with easy-to-use analysis tools is necessary. Here we present FusoBase, an online database providing access to genome-wide annotated sequences of Fusobacterium strains as well as bioinformatics tools, to support the expanding scientific community. Using our custom-developed Pairwise Genome Comparison tool, we demonstrate how differences between two user-defined genomes and how insertion of putative prophages can be identified. In addition, Pathogenomics Profiling Tool is capable of clustering predicted genes across Fusobacterium strains and visualizing the results in the form of a heat map with dendrogram.
  13. Tan MF, Siow CC, Dutta A, Mutha NV, Wee WY, Heydari H, et al.
    BMC Genomics, 2015;16:755.
    PMID: 26444974 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1959-5
    Listeria consists of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. Reports of similarities between the genomic content between some pathogenic and non-pathogenic species necessitates the investigation of these species at the genomic level to understand the evolution of virulence-associated genes. With Listeria genome data growing exponentially, comparative genomic analysis may give better insights into evolution, genetics and phylogeny of Listeria spp., leading to better management of the diseases caused by them.
  14. Zheng W, Mutha NV, Heydari H, Dutta A, Siow CC, Jakubovics NS, et al.
    PeerJ, 2016;4:e1698.
    PMID: 27017950 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1698
    Background. The gram-negative Neisseria is associated with two of the most potent human epidemic diseases: meningococcal meningitis and gonorrhoea. In both cases, disease is caused by bacteria colonizing human mucosal membrane surfaces. Overall, the genus shows great diversity and genetic variation mainly due to its ability to acquire and incorporate genetic material from a diverse range of sources through horizontal gene transfer. Although a number of databases exist for the Neisseria genomes, they are mostly focused on the pathogenic species. In this present study we present the freely available NeisseriaBase, a database dedicated to the genus Neisseria encompassing the complete and draft genomes of 15 pathogenic and commensal Neisseria species. Methods. The genomic data were retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and annotated using the RAST server which were then stored into the MySQL database. The protein-coding genes were further analyzed to obtain information such as calculation of GC content (%), predicted hydrophobicity and molecular weight (Da) using in-house Perl scripts. The web application was developed following the secure four-tier web application architecture: (1) client workstation, (2) web server, (3) application server, and (4) database server. The web interface was constructed using PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX and CSS, utilizing the model-view-controller (MVC) framework. The in-house developed bioinformatics tools implemented in NeisseraBase were developed using Python, Perl, BioPerl and R languages. Results. Currently, NeisseriaBase houses 603,500 Coding Sequences (CDSs), 16,071 RNAs and 13,119 tRNA genes from 227 Neisseria genomes. The database is equipped with interactive web interfaces. Incorporation of the JBrowse genome browser in the database enables fast and smooth browsing of Neisseria genomes. NeisseriaBase includes the standard BLAST program to facilitate homology searching, and for Virulence Factor Database (VFDB) specific homology searches, the VFDB BLAST is also incorporated into the database. In addition, NeisseriaBase is equipped with in-house designed tools such as the Pairwise Genome Comparison tool (PGC) for comparative genomic analysis and the Pathogenomics Profiling Tool (PathoProT) for the comparative pathogenomics analysis of Neisseria strains. Discussion. This user-friendly database not only provides access to a host of genomic resources on Neisseria but also enables high-quality comparative genome analysis, which is crucial for the expanding scientific community interested in Neisseria research. This database is freely available at http://neisseria.um.edu.my.
  15. Zheng W, Tan TK, Paterson IC, Mutha NV, Siow CC, Tan SY, et al.
    PLoS One, 2016;11(5):e0151908.
    PMID: 27138013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151908
    The oral streptococci are spherical Gram-positive bacteria categorized under the phylum Firmicutes which are among the most common causative agents of bacterial infective endocarditis (IE) and are also important agents in septicaemia in neutropenic patients. The Streptococcus mitis group is comprised of 13 species including some of the most common human oral colonizers such as S. mitis, S. oralis, S. sanguinis and S. gordonii as well as species such as S. tigurinus, S. oligofermentans and S. australis that have only recently been classified and are poorly understood at present. We present StreptoBase, which provides a specialized free resource focusing on the genomic analyses of oral species from the mitis group. It currently hosts 104 S. mitis group genomes including 27 novel mitis group strains that we sequenced using the high throughput Illumina HiSeq technology platform, and provides a comprehensive set of genome sequences for analyses, particularly comparative analyses and visualization of both cross-species and cross-strain characteristics of S. mitis group bacteria. StreptoBase incorporates sophisticated in-house designed bioinformatics web tools such as Pairwise Genome Comparison (PGC) tool and Pathogenomic Profiling Tool (PathoProT), which facilitate comparative pathogenomics analysis of Streptococcus strains. Examples are provided to demonstrate how StreptoBase can be employed to compare genome structure of different S. mitis group bacteria and putative virulence genes profile across multiple streptococcal strains. In conclusion, StreptoBase offers access to a range of streptococci genomic resources as well as analysis tools and will be an invaluable platform to accelerate research in streptococci. Database URL: http://streptococcus.um.edu.my.
  16. Tan SY, Tan IK, Tan MF, Dutta A, Choo SW
    Sci Rep, 2016 10 31;6:36116.
    PMID: 27796355 DOI: 10.1038/srep36116
    On record, there are 17 species in the Yersinia genus, of which three are known to be pathogenic to human. While the chromosomal and pYV (or pCD1) plasmid-borne virulence genes as well as pathogenesis of these three species are well studied, their genomic evolution is poorly understood. Our study aims to predict the key evolutionary events that led to the emergence of pathogenic Yersinia species by analyzing gene gain-and-loss, virulence genes, and "Clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats". Our results suggest that the most recent ancestor shared by the human pathogenic Yersinia was most probably an environmental species that had adapted to the human body. This might have led to ecological specialization that diverged Yersinia into ecotypes and distinct lineages based on differential gene gain-and-loss in different niches. Our data also suggest that Y. pseudotuberculosis group might be the donor of the ail virulence gene to Y. enterocolitica. Hence, we postulate that evolution of human pathogenic Yersinia might not be totally in parallel, but instead, there were lateral gene transfer events. Furthermore, the presence of virulence genes seems to be important for the positive selection of virulence plasmid. Our studies provide better insights into the evolutionary biology of these bacteria.
  17. Tan SY, Dutta A, Jakubovics NS, Ang MY, Siow CC, Mutha NV, et al.
    BMC Bioinformatics, 2015;16:9.
    PMID: 25591325 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-014-0422-y
    Yersinia is a Gram-negative bacteria that includes serious pathogens such as the Yersinia pestis, which causes plague, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Yersinia enterocolitica. The remaining species are generally considered non-pathogenic to humans, although there is evidence that at least some of these species can cause occasional infections using distinct mechanisms from the more pathogenic species. With the advances in sequencing technologies, many genomes of Yersinia have been sequenced. However, there is currently no specialized platform to hold the rapidly-growing Yersinia genomic data and to provide analysis tools particularly for comparative analyses, which are required to provide improved insights into their biology, evolution and pathogenicity.
  18. Yeong UY, Tan SY, Yap JF, Choo WY
    Malays Fam Physician, 2016;11(1):7-14.
    PMID: 28461842 MyJurnal
    INTRODUCTION: Fall is a major cause of injuries and can increase the risk of early mortality among elderly. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of falls among community-dwelling elderly in rural Malaysia and its associated factors.

    METHODS: Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey in five randomly selected districts in the state of Perak, Malaysia. A total of 250 households were randomly selected. A total of 811 individuals aged 60 years or more were recruited and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Information about socio-demographic, history of falls in the past 1 year, medical history, drug history and physical activity level were enquired.

    RESULTS: The prevalence of falls in the past 1 year among community-dwelling elderly was reported to be 4.07%. Indigenous elderly (Adjusted odd ratio, AOR = 6.06, 95% CI = 1.10-33.55, p = 0.039) and living alone (AOR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.04-6.50, p = 0.042) were shown to be factors associated with falls. Physical activity level, number of co-morbidities and number of medications used were not associated with falls.

    CONCLUSION: Elderly of indigenous ethnicity and living alone are the main factors associated with falls in this population. Indigenous people may be at higher risk, which warrant further investigation with a larger sample to improve the precision of estimates.

  19. Tan SY, Acquah C, Sidhu A, Ongkudon CM, Yon LS, Danquah MK
    Crit Rev Anal Chem, 2016 Nov;46(6):521-37.
    PMID: 26980177 DOI: 10.1080/10408347.2016.1157014
    The quest to improve the detection of biomolecules and cells in health and life sciences has led to the discovery and characterization of various affinity bioprobes. Libraries of synthetic oligonucleotides (ssDNA/ssRNA) with randomized sequences are employed during Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) to select highly specific affinity probes called aptamers. With much focus on the generation of aptamers for a variety of target molecules, conventional SELEX protocols have been modified to develop new and improved SELEX protocols yielding highly specific and stable aptamers. Various techniques have been used to analyze the binding interactions between aptamers and their cognate molecules with associated merits and limitations. This article comprehensively reviews research advancements in the generation of aptamers, analyses physicochemical conditions affecting their binding characteristics to cellular and biomolecular targets, and discusses various field applications of aptameric binding. Biophysical techniques employed in the characterization of the molecular and binding features of aptamers to their cognate targets are also discussed.
  20. Sayed S, Cherniak W, Lawler M, Tan SY, El Sadr W, Wolf N, et al.
    Lancet, 2018 05 12;391(10133):1939-1952.
    PMID: 29550027 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30459-8
    Insufficient awareness of the centrality of pathology and laboratory medicine (PALM) to a functioning health-care system at policy and governmental level, with the resultant inadequate investment, has meant that efforts to enhance PALM in low-income and middle-income countries have been local, fragmented, and mostly unsustainable. Responding to the four major barriers in PALM service delivery that were identified in the first paper of this Series (workforce, infrastructure, education and training, and quality assurance), this second paper identifies potential solutions that can be applied in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Increasing and retaining a quality PALM workforce requires access to mentorship and continuing professional development, task sharing, and the development of short-term visitor programmes. Opportunities to enhance the training of pathologists and allied PALM personnel by increasing and improving education provision must be explored and implemented. PALM infrastructure must be strengthened by addressing supply chain barriers, and ensuring laboratory information systems are in place. New technologies, including telepathology and point-of-care testing, can have a substantial role in PALM service delivery, if used appropriately. We emphasise the crucial importance of maintaining PALM quality and posit that all laboratories in LMICs should participate in quality assurance and accreditation programmes. A potential role for public-private partnerships in filling PALM services gaps should also be investigated. Finally, to deliver these solutions and ensure equitable access to essential services in LMICs, we propose a PALM package focused on these countries, integrated within a nationally tiered laboratory system, as part of an overarching national laboratory strategic plan.
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