METHODS: Pooled urine samples of patients with BTG (n=10), patients with PTC (n=9) and healthy controls (n=10) were subjected to iTRAQ analysis and immunoblotting.
RESULTS: The ITRAQ analysis of the urine samples detected 646 proteins, 18 of which showed significant altered levels (p<0.01; fold-change>1.5) between patients and controls. Whilst four urinary proteins were commonly altered in both BTG and PTC patients, 14 were unique to either BTG or PTC. Amongst these, four proteins were further chosen for validation using immunoblotting, and the enhanced levels of osteopontin in BTG patients and increased levels of a truncated gelsolin fragment in PTC patients, relative to controls, appeared to corroborate the findings of the iTRAQ analysis.
CONCLUSION: The data of the present study is suggestive of the potential application of urinary osteopontin and gelsolin to discriminate patients with BTG from those with PTC non-invasively. However, this needs to be further validated in studies of individual urine samples.
OBJECTIVES: This article aims to explain paediatric cancer parents' information behaviour related to the care of their child.
METHODS: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen Malaysian paediatric cancer parents and eight healthcare professionals who worked with paediatric cancer patients. Reflexivity and inductive approaches were used to interpret the data to identify meaningful themes and subthemes.
RESULTS: Three themes about how paediatric cancer parents interact with information emerged: Acquiring information, internalising information, and using information. Information may be actively sought or passively acquired. Cognitive and affective aspects influence how information is internalised into meaningful knowledge. Knowledge then leads to further action including further information gathering.
CONCLUSION: Paediatric cancer parents need health literacy support to meet their information needs. They require guidance in identifying and appraising suitable information resources. Development of suitable supporting materials is needed to facilitate parents' ability to comprehend information related to their child's cancer. Understanding parents' information behaviour could assist healthcare professionals in providing information support in the context of paediatric cancer.
METHODS: A user profile and topic list were established based on previous needs analysis studies. Content was developed for each identified topic. An expert panel assessed the content validity of both informational content and activity sections. Subsequently, the contents were presented via a learning management system to parents of children newly diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma. Parents evaluated the quality of e-HOPE using the Website Evaluation Questionnaire (WEQ) after an 8-week period.
RESULTS: The scale content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) achieved 0.996 for informational content and 0.991 for the activity section. Sixteen parents provided evaluations of e-HOPE after an 8-week usage period. Mean WEQ scores for various dimensions ranged from 4.23 for completeness to 4.88 for relevance.
CONCLUSIONS: E-HOPE was meticulously designed and developed to offer Malaysian parents a Malay-language resource complementing current caregiver education practices. It exhibited strong content validity and received positive user ratings for quality. Further assessment is warranted to evaluate its effectiveness in supporting parents of children with leukemia or lymphoma. The resource is anticipated to enhance information accessibility and support for Malaysian parents facing hematological cancers in their children.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.govNCT05455268.
Materials and Methods: An unblinded randomized controlled trial was undertaken at the dermatology clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Consent from the patients fulfilling inclusion criteria were obtained, and they were included in this study. They were randomized into two groups, namely Gp-1 (C and P labeling) and Gp-2 (conventional labeling). Both groups were assessed at week 0, 6, and 12 (visit 1, 2, and 3) using knowledge assessment list and psoriasis severity assessment score. For visit 2 (week 6), reinforcement of their understanding of topical treatment was performed.
Results: A total of 101 patients were recruited. Only 91 of them completed the study. The mean ages were 44.52 (±16.61) and 45.49 (±15.84) years, with 70.3% males and approximately half Malay ethnics. The changes of knowledge and comparison of Topical Application Assessment Score between the groups showed an incremental raise of significance with every visit (P = 0.006 [week 1], 0.004 [week 6], and 0.002 [week 12]). Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 75 could not draw any conclusion as patients who achieved >75% improvement were inadequate.
Conclusion: C and P labeling was effective in improving the understanding and knowledge of patients with psoriasis. Both groups showed improvement in body surface area and Dermatology Life Quality Index for every visit; however, it was statistically insignificant.
RESULTS: Egg production with two types of eggs, namely reproductive and trophic eggs, by physogastric workers was found. The reproductive egg was confirmed to be haploid and male-destined, suggesting that the workers produced males via arrhenotokous parthenogenesis as no spermatheca was discovered. Detailed observations suggested that larvae were mainly fed with trophic eggs. Along with consumption of trophic eggs by queens and other castes as part of their diet, the vital role of physogastric workers as "trophic specialist" is confirmed.
CONCLUSION: We propose that adaptive advantages derived from worker reproduction for A. gracilipes may include 1) trophic eggs provisioned by physogastric workers likely assist colonies of A. gracilipes in overcoming unfavorable conditions such as paucity of food during critical founding stage; 2) worker-produced males are fertile and thus might offer an inclusive fitness advantage for the doomed orphaned colony.
METHODS: A survey was developed by multicenter consensus. The survey captured institutional characteristics, geographic distributions, intracranial EEG utilization, and barriers to SEEG. Respondents were representative epilepsy centers across the region.
RESULTS: Four epilepsy centers with established intracranial/ SEEG and two centers from a country without any access to SEEG participated. The responses identified that 1. Access to SEEG remained highly restricted across the region with an estimated one capable epilepsy center per 100 million people; 2. The region includes over half a billion people living in countries with no access to SEEG; 3. Staffing/ financial constraints were universal factors that limited growth of services or development of new services; 4. SEEG numbers have plateaued as a result of these challenges.
CONCLUSION: The study puts into real numbers the challenges faced by the region in accessing SEEG. SEEG remains highly underutilized and future approaches should focus on regional training and referral pathways.