METHODS: Caprine pancreatic tissues were collected from a local slaughterhouse and prior transported to the laboratory by maintaining the cold chain. Islets were obtained by a collagenase-based digestion and optimized isolation technique. Islet cell purity and viability were determined by dithizone and trypan blue staining, respectively. Islet clusters of different sizes were positively identified by staining methods and demonstrated 90% viability in the culture system. Following static incubation, an in vitro insulin secretion assay was carried out and analyzed by ELISA.
RESULTS: The islets remained satisfactorily viable for 5 days in the culture system following regular media changes. The current study has successfully optimized the isolation, purification and culture maintenance of caprine islets.
CONCLUSION: The successful yield, viability and functionality of islets isolated from the optimized protocol provide promising potential as an alternative source of islets for diabetes and transplantation researches.
METHODS: A multidimensional survey instrument measuring attitudes to xenotransplantation, including the factors that predict such attitudes, was developed based on earlier studies and validated. It was then completed by 469 respondents who were stratified in accordance with stakeholder groups in Malaysia. A single-step SEM analysis was then conducted to estimate the measurement and create a structural model using IBM SPSS Amos version 20 with a maximum-likelihood function.
RESULTS: The attitudes of Malaysian stakeholders towards xenotransplantation were moderately positive (mean score of 4.20). The most important direct predictor of attitude to xenotransplantation was perceived benefit (β = 0.59, P
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore a simple, easy, economical method of PRP preparation that is practical for clinical use.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Sports Medicine Clinic at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. Participants were healthy postgraduate students and staff at the Sports Medicine Department. The PRP was prepared using a single centrifugation technique. Leukocyte and platelet levels were compared with that of a whole blood baseline and a commercial preparation kit.
RESULTS: The PRP produced using this technique contained significantly higher mean platelet (1725.0 vs. 273.9 x 109/L) and leukocyte (33.6 vs. 7.7 x 109/L) levels compared with whole blood. There was no significant difference in the mean platelet and leukocyte levels between the PRP produced in this study and by a commercial PRP system.
CONCLUSIONS: A single-centrifugation protocol using readily available materials in a typical clinical setting could produce PRP of comparable quality to those of a commercial PRP production system.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether SOS exerts fungicidal activities against common fungal species.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The efficacy of SOS was tested against 6 fungal species (Candida albicans, Candida auris, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, Sporothrix schenckii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes) using an in vitro time-kill assay.
RESULTS: SOS achieved 99.9999% reduction of all tested fungi within 1 minute of exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that SOS may be an effective tool for the prevention and control of fungal infections.
AIMS: The main aim was to systematically evaluate the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of structured patient education on their knowledge, participation, wound healing, and quality of life.
METHODS: The search strategy retrieved studies published between 2009 and 2021 in English across PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library. Adult participants aged 18 years and above were included. Randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental, and interventional studies were all included in this review. Three independent reviewers assessed the methodological quality of the studies, prior to critical appraisal, using standardized tools, that is, the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for randomized and non-randomized studies. A narrative synthesis was conducted.
RESULTS: A total of eight studies (466 participants) were included in this review. Available evidence indicated improved patient knowledge, participation, and quality of life with structured patient education. However, there was insufficient high-quality evidence to conclude the effect on wound healing.
LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: Structured patient education for PI was deemed to help improve patients' knowledge, participation, and quality of life. More rigorous trials are needed for the effect on wound healing progress. Thus, future educational interventions should include wound care components that describe the patient's role in promoting wound healing. A well-structured patient education program protocol is crucial to ensure the educational intervention was measurable in its effectiveness and reproducibility.
Case Description: We report a 42-year-old man, diagnosed with rosette-forming glioneuronal tumor of the fourth ventricle with a positive isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 mutation, progressed to glioblastoma after 6 years from diagnosis. We discuss the clinical history, radiological findings, and histopathological characteristic with immunohistochemistry findings observed in this unique case.
Conclusions: Despite being acceptable as benign, based on our observations in this case, there is a potential for malignant transformation of rosette-forming glioneuronal tumor. The role of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 mutation leading to malignant transformation could not be established as our finding is novel and further prospective studies are required to prove this association.
METHODS: Both ictal and interictal ESI were performed by the use of patient-specific realistic forward models and 3 different linear distributed inverse models. Lateralization as well as concordance between ESI-estimated focuses and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) focuses were assessed.
RESULTS: All the ESI focuses (both ictal and interictal) were found lateralized to the same hemisphere as ictal SPECT focuses. Lateralization results also were in agreement with the lesion sides as visualized on magnetic resonance imaging. Ictal ESI results, obtained from the best-performing inverse model, were fully concordant with the same cortical lobe as SPECT focuses, whereas the corresponding concordance rate is 87.50% in case of interictal ESI.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that ictal ESI gives fully lateralized and highly concordant results with ictal SPECT and may provide a cost-effective substitute for ictal SPECT.
METHODS: Miri General Hospital is a remote center in Sarawak, Malaysia, serving a population with difficult access to neurosurgical services. Two neurosurgeons were stationed here on a rotational basis every fortnight during the pandemic to handle neurosurgical cases. Patients were triaged depending on their urgent needs for surgery or transfer to a neurosurgical center and managed accordingly. All patients were screened for potential risk of contracting COVID-19 prior to the surgery. Based on this, the level of personal protective equipment required for the health care workers involved was determined.
RESULTS: During the initial 6 weeks of the Movement Control Order in Malaysia, there were 50 urgent neurosurgical consultations. Twenty patients (40%) required emergency surgery or intervention. There were 9 vascular (45%), 5 trauma (25%), 4 tumor (20%), and 2 hydrocephalus cases (10%). Eighteen patients were operated at Miri General Hospital, among whom 17 (94.4%) survived. Ninety percent of anticipated transfers were avoided. None of the medical staff acquired COVID-19.
CONCLUSIONS: This framework allowed timely intervention for neurosurgical emergencies (within a safe limit), minimized transfer, and enabled uninterrupted neurosurgical services at a remote center with difficult access to neurosurgical care during a pandemic.