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Fulltext Paclitaxel Inhibits Expression of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase and Prevents Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Spinal Ventral Horn in Rats After C7 Spinal Root Avulsion

Sim SK, Tan YC, Tee JH, Yusoff AA, Abdullah JM

Turk Neurosurg, 2015;25(4):617-24.
PMID: 26242340 DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.14035-15.1

This study evaluated the neuroprotective effect of intrathecally infused paclitaxel in the prevention of motoneuron death and mitochondrial dysfunction following brachial plexus avulsion injury.
Combined endoscopic transnasal and transoral approach for extensive upper cervical osteoradionecrosis

Tan SH, Ganesan D, Rusydi WZ, Chandran H, Prepageran N, Waran V

Eur Spine J, 2015 Dec;24(12):2776-80.
PMID: 26210311 DOI: 10.1007/s00586-015-4153-1

PURPOSE: Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) is a rare yet well-recognized complication following radiotherapy to the head and neck. We illustrate the only case of a spontaneous extrusion of the sequestered C1 arch through the oral cavity and discuss our experience with a combined endoscopic transnasal and transoral approach for cervical ORN.
METHODS: A 56-year-old female presented with a 3-month history of blood-stained nasal discharge. She had been treated with radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma 25 years earlier. Flexible nasal endoscopy demonstrated an exposed bone with an edematous posterior nasopharyngeal mass. Computed tomography showed a pre-vertebral mass with destruction of C1 and C2. She underwent occipito-cervical fusion followed by a combined transnasal and transoral endoscopic debridement of non-viable bone in the same perioperative setting. Healing of the raw mucosa was by secondary intention and reconstruction was not performed.
RESULTS: Histopathological examination reported ulcerated inflamed granulation tissue with no evidence of malignancy. During follow-up, she remained neurologically intact with no recurrence.
CONCLUSION: Using both nasal and oral spaces allows placement of the endoscope in the nasal cavity and surgical instruments in the oral cavity without splitting the palate. Hence, the endoscopic transnasal and transoral approach has vast potential to be effective in carefully selected cases of cervical ORN.
Fulltext Incorporating texture features in a computer-aided breast lesion diagnosis system for automated three-dimensional breast ultrasound

Liu H, Tan T, van Zelst J, Mann R, Karssemeijer N, Platel B

J Med Imaging (Bellingham), 2014 Jul;1(2):024501.
PMID: 26158036 DOI: 10.1117/1.JMI.1.2.024501

We investigated the benefits of incorporating texture features into an existing computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for classifying benign and malignant lesions in automated three-dimensional breast ultrasound images. The existing system takes into account 11 different features, describing different lesion properties; however, it does not include texture features. In this work, we expand the system by including texture features based on local binary patterns, gray level co-occurrence matrices, and Gabor filters computed from each lesion to be diagnosed. To deal with the resulting large number of features, we proposed a combination of feature-oriented classifiers combining each group of texture features into a single likelihood, resulting in three additional features used for the final classification. The classification was performed using support vector machine classifiers, and the evaluation was done with 10-fold cross validation on a dataset containing 424 lesions (239 benign and 185 malignant lesions). We compared the classification performance of the CAD system with and without texture features. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve increased from 0.90 to 0.91 after adding texture features ([Formula: see text]).
Fulltext Enhanced Evaporation Strength through Fast Water Permeation in Graphene-Oxide Deposition

Tong WL, Ong WJ, Chai SP, Tan MK, Hung YM

Sci Rep, 2015;5:11896.
PMID: 26100977 DOI: 10.1038/srep11896

The unique characteristic of fast water permeation in laminated graphene oxide (GO) sheets has facilitated the development of ultrathin and ultrafast nanofiltration membranes. Here we report the application of fast water permeation property of immersed GO deposition for enhancing the performance of a GO/water nanofluid charged two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT). By benchmarking its performance against a silver oxide/water nanofluid charged TPCT, the enhancement of evaporation strength is found to be essentially attributed to the fast water permeation property of GO deposition instead of the enhanced surface wettability of the deposited layer. The expansion of interlayer distance between the graphitic planes of GO deposited layer enables intercalation of bilayer water for fast water permeation. The capillary force attributed to the frictionless interaction between the atomically smooth, hydrophobic carbon structures and the well-ordered hydrogen bonds of water molecules is sufficiently strong to overcome the gravitational force. As a result, a thin water film is formed on the GO deposited layers, inducing filmwise evaporation which is more effective than its interfacial counterpart, appreciably enhanced the overall performance of TPCT. This study paves the way for a promising start of employing the fast water permeation property of GO in thermal applications.
Diabetes telemonitoring reduces the risk of hypoglycaemia during Ramadan: a pilot randomized controlled study

Lee JY, Lee SW, Nasir NH, How S, Tan CS, Wong CP

Diabet Med, 2015 Dec;32(12):1658-61.
PMID: 26103794 DOI: 10.1111/dme.12836

AIM: This pilot study evaluated the short-term benefits of a telemonitoring-supplemented focused diabetic education compared with education alone in participants with Type 2 diabetes who were fasting during Ramadan.
METHODS: In this pilot mixed-method study, we identified 37 participants and randomly allocated them to either a telemonitoring group (n = 18) or a group receiving Ramadan-focused pre-education only (usual care; n = 19). The telemonitoring group received goal-setting and personalized feedback.
RESULTS: The telemonitoring group was less likely to experience hypoglycaemia than the usual care group (odds ratio: 0.1273; 95% confidence interval: 0.0267-0.6059). No significant differences were noted in glycaemic control at the end of study. Participants viewed telemedicine as a more convenient alternative although technological barriers remain a concern.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study reinforce the need for monitoring as well as educational initiatives for Muslims with diabetes who fast during Ramadan. Telemonitoring offers an attractive option requiring further research. (Clinical Trial Registry No. NCT02189135).
Hepatitis B virus peptide inhibitors: solution structures and interactions with the viral capsid

Muhamad A, Ho KL, Rahman MB, Tejo BA, Uhrín D, Tan WS

Org Biomol Chem, 2015 Jul 28;13(28):7780-9.
PMID: 26100394 DOI: 10.1039/c5ob00449g

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a health problem globally despite the availability of effective vaccines. In the assembly of the infectious virion, both the preS and S regions of the HBV large surface antigen (L-HBsAg) interact synergistically with the viral core antigen (HBcAg). Peptides preS and S based on the L-HBsAg were demonstrated as potential inhibitors to block the viral assembly. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the solution structures of these peptides and study their interactions with HBcAg. The solution structures of these peptides were solved using (1)H, (13)C, and (15)N NMR spectroscopy. Peptide preS has several structured regions of β-turns at Ser7-Pro8-Pro9, Arg11-Thr12-Thr13 and Ser22-Thr23-Thr24 sequences whereas peptide S has only one structured region observed at Ser3-Asn4-His5. Both peptides contain bend-like structures surrounding the turn structures. Docking studies revealed that both peptides interacted with the immunodominant region of HBcAg located at the tip of the viral capsid spikes. Saturation Transfer Difference (STD) NMR experiments identified several aromatic residues in peptides preS and S that interact with HBcAg. This study provides insights into the contact regions of L-HBsAg and HBcAg at atomic resolution which can be used to design antiviral agents that inhibit HBV morphogenesis.
Clinical and Imaging Features of Lacrimal Gland Involvement in Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis

Tan LT, Davagnanam I, Isa H, Rose GE, Verity DH, Pusey CD, et al.

Ophthalmology, 2015 Oct;122(10):2125-9.
PMID: 26233627 DOI: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.06.026

Lacrimal gland involvement in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) commonly accompanies orbital disease, but occasionally may be the sole presentation preceding any other organ manifestation or systemic disease. Diagnosis of orbital GPA, especially in patients with lacrimal involvement as the initial presentation, can be difficult because of nonspecific clinical features and lack of diagnostic specificity on histologic and antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) testing. Orbital GPA can be associated with a high morbidity from potential visual loss or rapid progression of latent systemic disease, making early diagnosis important. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and imaging features of patients with lacrimal gland involvement secondary to GPA and to compare them with those of other orbital inflammatory conditions in the lacrimal gland fossa.
Effects of amount and type of dietary fats on postprandial lipemia and thrombogenic markers in individuals with metabolic syndrome

Teng KT, Chang CY, Kanthimathi MS, Tan AT, Nesaretnam K

Atherosclerosis, 2015 Sep;242(1):281-7.
PMID: 26232169 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2015.07.003

Postprandial lipemia has been reported to affect endothelial function by thrombogenic and inflammatory pathways. We set out to investigate the impact of a) specific amount (50 g vs 20 g fat), and b) type of fatty acids (saturated, monounsaturated or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids; SFA, MUFA, PUFA) on postprandial lipemia, thrombogenic and inflammatory factors in metabolic syndrome subjects.
Fulltext Water extract of brewers' rice induces apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells via activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8 and downregulates the Wnt/β-catenin downstream signaling pathway in brewers' rice-treated rats with azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis

Tan BL, Norhaizan ME, Huynh K, Heshu SR, Yeap SK, Hazilawati H, et al.

BMC Complement Altern Med, 2015;15:205.
PMID: 26122204 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-015-0730-4

Brewers' rice, is locally known as temukut, is a mixture of broken rice, rice bran, and rice germ. The current study is an extension of our previous work, which demonstrated that water extract of brewers' rice (WBR) induced apoptosis in human colorectal cancer (HT-29) cells. We also identified that brewers' rice was effective in reducing the tumor incidence and multiplicity in azoxymethane (AOM)-injected colon cancer rats. Our present study was designed to identify whether WBR confers an inhibitory effect via the regulation of upstream components in the Wnt signaling pathway in HT-29 cells. To further determine whether the in vitro mechanisms of action observed in the HT-29 cells inhibit the downstream signaling target of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, we evaluated the mechanistic action of brewers' rice in regulating the expressions and key protein markers during colon carcinogenesis in male Sprague-Dawley rats.
Fulltext Multigene Phylogeography of Bactrocera caudata (Insecta: Tephritidae): Distinct Genetic Lineages in Northern and Southern Hemispheres

Yong HS, Lim PE, Tan J, Song SL, Suana IW, Eamsobhana P

PLoS One, 2015;10(6):e0129455.
PMID: 26090853 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129455

Bactrocera caudata is a pest of pumpkin flower. Specimens of B. caudata from the northern hemisphere (mainland Asia) and southern hemisphere (Indonesia) were analysed using the partial DNA sequences of the nuclear 28S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS-2) genes, and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COII) and 16S rRNA genes. The COI, COII, 16S rDNA and concatenated COI+COII+16S and COI+COII+16S+28S+ITS-2 nucleotide sequences revealed that B. caudata from the northern hemisphere (Peninsular Malaysia, East Malaysia, Thailand) was distinctly different from the southern hemisphere (Indonesia: Java, Bali and Lombok), without common haplotype between them. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct clades (northern and southern hemispheres), indicating distinct genetic lineage. The uncorrected 'p' distance for the concatenated COI+COII+16S nucleotide sequences between the taxa from the northern and southern hemispheres ('p' = 4.46-4.94%) was several folds higher than the 'p' distance for the taxa in the northern hemisphere ('p' = 0.00-0.77%) and the southern hemisphere ('p' = 0.00%). This distinct difference was also reflected by concatenated COI+COII+16S+28S+ITS-2 nucleotide sequences with an uncorrected 'p' distance of 2.34-2.69% between the taxa of northern and southern hemispheres. In accordance with the type locality the Indonesian taxa belong to the nominal species. Thus the taxa from the northern hemisphere, if they were to constitute a cryptic species of the B. caudata species complex based on molecular data, need to be formally described as a new species. The Thailand and Malaysian B. caudata populations in the northern hemisphere showed distinct genetic structure and phylogeographic pattern.
Fulltext Suppression of cell division-associated genes by Helicobacter pylori attenuates proliferation of RAW264.7 monocytic macrophage cells

Tan GM, Looi CY, Fernandez KC, Vadivelu J, Loke MF, Wong WF

Sci Rep, 2015;5:11046.
PMID: 26078204 DOI: 10.1038/srep11046

Helicobacter pylori at multiplicity of infection (MOI ≥ 50) have been shown to cause apoptosis in RAW264.7 monocytic macrophage cells. Because chronic gastric infection by H. pylori results in the persistence of macrophages in the host's gut, it is likely that H. pylori is present at low to moderate, rather than high numbers in the infected host. At present, the effect of low-MOI H. pylori infection on macrophage has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the genome-wide transcriptional regulation of H. pylori-infected RAW264.7 cells at MOI 1, 5 and 10 in the absence of cellular apoptosis. Microarray data revealed up- and down-regulation of 1341 and 1591 genes, respectively. The expression of genes encoding for DNA replication and cell cycle-associated molecules, including Aurora-B kinase (AurkB) were down-regulated. Immunoblot analysis verified the decreased expression of AurkB and downstream phosphorylation of Cdk1 caused by H. pylori infection. Consistently, we observed that H. pylori infection inhibited cell proliferation and progression through the G1/S and G2/M checkpoints. In summary, we suggest that H. pylori disrupts expression of cell cycle-associated genes, thereby impeding proliferation of RAW264.7 cells, and such disruption may be an immunoevasive strategy utilized by H. pylori.
Fulltext Low physical activity and energy dense Malaysian foods are associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in centrally obese but not in non-centrally obese patients with diabetes mellitus

Chan WK, Tan AT, Vethakkan SR, Tah PC, Vijayananthan A, Goh KL

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2015;24(2):289-98.
PMID: 26078246 DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.2015.24.2.15

To study the dietary intake and level of physical activity (PA) of patients with diabetes mellitus and the association with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Fulltext Detection of Prosthetic Knee Movement Phases via In-Socket Sensors: A Feasibility Study

El-Sayed AM, Hamzaid NA, Tan KY, Abu Osman NA

ScientificWorldJournal, 2015;2015:923286.
PMID: 25945365 DOI: 10.1155/2015/923286

This paper presents an approach of identifying prosthetic knee movements through pattern recognition of mechanical responses at the internal socket's wall. A quadrilateral double socket was custom made and instrumented with two force sensing resistors (FSR) attached to specific anterior and posterior sites of the socket's wall. A second setup was established by attaching three piezoelectric sensors at the anterior distal, anterior proximal, and posterior sites. Gait cycle and locomotion movements such as stair ascent and sit to stand were adopted to characterize the validity of the technique. FSR and piezoelectric outputs were measured with reference to the knee angle during each phase. Piezoelectric sensors could identify the movement of midswing and terminal swing, pre-full standing, pull-up at gait, sit to stand, and stair ascent. In contrast, FSR could estimate the gait cycle stance and swing phases and identify the pre-full standing at sit to stand. FSR showed less variation during sit to stand and stair ascent to sensitively represent the different movement states. The study highlighted the capacity of using in-socket sensors for knee movement identification. In addition, it validated the efficacy of the system and warrants further investigation with more amputee subjects and different sockets types.
Sedation scoring and managing abilities of intensive care nurses post educational intervention

Ramoo V, Abdullah KL, Tan PS, Wong LP, Chua YP, Tang LY

Nurs Crit Care, 2017 May;22(3):141-149.
PMID: 25913373 DOI: 10.1111/nicc.12180

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate sedation assessment can jeopardize patient comfort and safety. Therefore, nurses' abilities in assessing and managing sedation are vital for effective care of mechanically ventilated patients.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study assessed nurses' sedation scoring and management abilities as primary outcomes following educational interventions. Nurses' perceived self-confidence and barriers to effective sedation management were assessed as secondary outcomes.
DESIGN: A post-test-only quasi-experimental design was used. Data were collected at 3 and 9 months post-intervention.
METHODS: A total of 66 nurses from a 14-bed intensive care unit of a Malaysian teaching hospital participated. The educational interventions included theoretical sessions, hands-on sedation assessment practice using the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale, and a brief sedation assessment tool. Nurses' sedation scoring and management abilities and perceived self-confidence level were assessed at both time points using self-administered questionnaires with case scenarios. Sedation assessment and management barriers were assessed once at 9 months post-intervention.
RESULTS: Median scores for overall accurate sedation scoring (9 months: 4·00; 3 months: 2·00, p = 0·0001) and overall sedation management (9 months: 14·0; 3 months: 7·0, p = 0·0001) were significantly higher at 9 months compared to 3 months post-intervention. There were no significant differences in the perceived self-confidence level for rating sedation level. Overall perceived barrier scores were low (M = 27·78, SD = 6·26, possible range = 11·0-55·0). Patient conditions (M = 3·68, SD = 1·13) and nurses' workload (M = 3·54, SD = 0·95) were the greatest barriers to effective sedation assessment and management. Demographic variables did not affect sedation scoring or management abilities.
CONCLUSIONS: Positive changes in nurses' sedation assessment and management abilities were observed, indicating that adequate hands-on clinical practice following educational interventions can improve nurses' knowledge and skills.
RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Educational initiatives are necessary to improve ICU practice, particularly in ICUs with inexperienced nurses.
Computer-aided diagnosis of Myocardial Infarction using ultrasound images with DWT, GLCM and HOS methods: A comparative study

Vidya KS, Ng EY, Acharya UR, Chou SM, Tan RS, Ghista DN

Comput Biol Med, 2015 Jul;62:86-93.
PMID: 25912990 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2015.03.033

Myocardial Infarction (MI) or acute MI (AMI) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Precise and timely identification of MI and extent of muscle damage helps in early treatment and reduction in the time taken for further tests. MI diagnosis using 2D echocardiography is prone to inter-/intra-observer variability in the assessment. Therefore, a computerised scheme based on image processing and artificial intelligent techniques can reduce the workload of clinicians and improve the diagnosis accuracy. A Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) of infarcted and normal ultrasound images will be useful for clinicians. In this study, the performance of CAD approach using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), second order statistics calculated from Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and Higher-Order Spectra (HOS) texture descriptors are compared. The proposed system is validated using 400 MI and 400 normal ultrasound images, obtained from 80 patients with MI and 80 normal subjects. The extracted features are ranked based on t-value and fed to the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to obtain the best performance using minimum number of features. The features extracted from DWT coefficients obtained an accuracy of 99.5%, sensitivity of 99.75% and specificity of 99.25%; GLCM have achieved an accuracy of 85.75%, sensitivity of 90.25% and specificity of 81.25%; and HOS obtained an accuracy of 93.0%, sensitivity of 94.75% and specificity of 91.25%. Among the three techniques presented DWT yielded the highest classification accuracy. Thus, the proposed CAD approach may be used as a complementary tool to assist cardiologists in making a more accurate diagnosis for the presence of MI.
Fulltext Influence of customized cooking methods on the phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of selected species of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.)

Tan YS, Baskaran A, Nallathamby N, Chua KH, Kuppusamy UR, Sabaratnam V

J Food Sci Technol, 2015 May;52(5):3058-64.
PMID: 25892809 DOI: 10.1007/s13197-014-1332-8

Nutritional value of cooked food has been considered to be lower compared to the fresh produce. However, many reports showed that processed fruits and vegetables including mushrooms may retain antioxidant activity. Pleurotus spp. as one of the edible mushroom are in great demand globally and become one of the most popular mushrooms grown worldwide with 25-fold increase in production from 1960-2009. The effects of three different cooking methods (boiling, microwave and pressure cooking) on the antioxidant activities of six different types of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii, P citrinopileatus, P. cystidiosus P. flabellatus, P. floridanus and P. pulmonarius) were assessed. Free radical scavenging (DPPH) and reducing power (TEAC) were used to evaluate the antioxidant activities and the total phenolic contents were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Pressure cooking improved the scavenging abilities of P. floridanus (>200 %), P. flabellatus (117.6 %), and P. pulmonarius (49.1 %) compared to the uncooked samples. On the other hand, the microwaved Pleurotus eryngii showed 17 % higher in the TEAC value when compared to the uncooked sample. There was, however, no correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidant activities. There could be presence of other bioactive components in the processed mushrooms that may have contributed to the antioxidant activity. These results suggested that customized cooking method can be used to enhance the nutritional value of mushrooms and promote good health.
Fulltext Localized SCF and IGF-1 secretion enhances erythropoiesis in the spleen of murine embryos

Tan KS, Inoue T, Kulkeaw K, Tanaka Y, Lai MI, Sugiyama D

Biol Open, 2015;4(5):596-607.
PMID: 25887124 DOI: 10.1242/bio.201410686

Fetal spleen is a major hematopoietic site prior to initiation of bone marrow hematopoiesis. Morphologic analysis suggested erythropoietic activity in fetal spleen, but it remained unclear how erythropoiesis was regulated. To address this question, we performed flow cytometric analysis and observed that the number of spleen erythroid cells increased 18.6-fold from 16.5 to 19.5 days post-coitum (dpc). Among erythropoietic cytokines, SCF and IGF-1 were primarily expressed in hematopoietic, endothelial and mesenchymal-like fetal spleen cells. Cultures treated with SCF and/or IGF-1R inhibitors showed significantly decreased CD45-c-Kit-CD71+/-Ter119+ erythroid cells and downregulated Gata1, Klf1 and β-major globin expression. Administration of these inhibitors to pregnant mice significantly decreased the number of CD45-c-Kit-CD71+/-Ter119+ cells and downregulated β-major globin gene expression in embryos derived from these mice. We conclude that fetal spleen is a major erythropoietic site where endothelial and mesenchymal-like cells primarily accelerate erythropoietic activity through SCF and IGF-1 secretion.
Fulltext Relationship between cold pressor pain-sensitivity and sleep quality in opioid-dependent males on methadone treatment

Zahari Z, Lee CS, Tan SC, Mohamad N, Lee YY, Ismail R

PeerJ, 2015;3:e839.
PMID: 25870765 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.839

Aim. Poor sleep quality due to pain has been reported among opioid-dependent male patients on methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) but objective pain data are lacking. This study aimed to investigate the rate of pain-sensitivity using cold pressor test (CPT) and the relationship between pain-sensitivity and sleep quality in this population.
Methods. A total of 168 male participants were included into the study. Objective pain-tolerance was evaluated at 0 h and at 24 h after the first CPT. Malay version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the subjective opiate withdrawal scale (SOWS) questionnaires were administered to evaluate the quality of sleep and withdrawal symptoms, respectively.
Results. The mean age of study participants was 37.22 (SD 6.20) years old. Mean daily methadone dose was 76.64 (SD 37.63) mg/day, mean global PSQI score was 5.47 (SD 2.74) and mean averaged SOWS score was 5.43 (SD 6.91). The averaged pain-tolerance time ranged from 7 to 300 s with a mean time of 32.16 (SE 2.72) s, slightly below the cut-off score of 37.53 s. More specifically, 78.6% (n = 132) of participants were identified as pain-sensitive (averaged pain-tolerance time ≤37.53 s), and 36 (21.4%) participants were pain-tolerant (averaged pain-tolerance time >37.53 s). The pain-sensitive group reported poorer sleep quality with mean (SD) PSQI of 5.78 (2.80) compared with the pain-tolerant group with mean (SD) PSQI of 4.31 (2.18) (p = 0.005). With analysis of covariance, pain-sensitive group was found to have higher global PSQI scores (adjusted mean 5.76, 95% CI 5.29; 6.22) than pain-tolerant participants (adjusted mean 4.42, 95% CI 3.52; 5.32) (p = 0.010).
Conclusions. Majority of opioid-dependent male patients on methadone treatment are pain-sensitive with CPT. Poor sleep quality is associated with cold pressor pain-sensitivity. Pain and sleep complaints in this male population should not be overlooked.
Study site: Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and other MMT clinics (Kota Bharu, Pasir Mas, Pasir Puteh and Bachok), Kelantan, Malaysia
Fulltext Validity and reliability of the Malay version of the Structured Migraine Interview (SMI) Questionnaire

Shaik MM, Hassan NB, Tan HL, Bhaskar S, Gan SH

J Headache Pain, 2015 Mar 14;16:22.
PMID: 25903056 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-015-0509-5

BACKGROUND: The Structured Migraine Interview (SMI) is a valid and reliable instrument for migraine diagnosis. However, a Malay version of the SMI is not available to be applied to the local Malaysian population. This study was designed to access the validity and reliability of a new Malay version of the SMI questionnaire.
METHODS: Patients with headache attending the Neurology Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia, were screened against the inclusion/exclusion criteria before recruitment. A standard translation procedure was used to translate and adapt the questionnaire into the Malay language. The translated version was tested for face, content and construct validities. Subsequently, validity and reliability studies were conducted (1(st) compilation), followed by retesting seven days later (2(nd) compilation).
RESULTS: A total of 157 patients between 15 and 60 years of age were enrolled in this study. The kappa value was 0.70 (p
Fulltext Potential recombinant vaccine against influenza A virus based on M2e displayed on nodaviral capsid nanoparticles

Yong CY, Yeap SK, Ho KL, Omar AR, Tan WS

Int J Nanomedicine, 2015;10:2751-63.
PMID: 25897220 DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S77405

Influenza A virus poses a major threat to human health, causing outbreaks from time to time. Currently available vaccines employ inactivated viruses of different strains to provide protection against influenza virus infection. However, high mutation rates of influenza virus hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) glycoproteins give rise to vaccine escape mutants. Thus, an effective vaccine providing protection against all strains of influenza virus would be a valuable asset. The ectodomain of matrix 2 protein (M2e) was found to be highly conserved despite mutations of the H and N glycoproteins. Hence, one to five copies of M2e were fused to the carboxyl-terminal end of the recombinant nodavirus capsid protein derived from Macrobrachium rosenbergii. The chimeric proteins harboring up to five copies of M2e formed nanosized virus-like particles approximately 30 nm in diameter, which could be purified easily by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. BALB/c mice immunized subcutaneously with these chimeric proteins developed antibodies specifically against M2e, and the titer was proportional to the copy numbers of M2e displayed on the nodavirus capsid nanoparticles. The fusion proteins also induced a type 1 T helper immune response. Collectively, M2e displayed on the nodavirus capsid nanoparticles could provide an alternative solution to a possible influenza pandemic in the future.

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