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  1. Fulltext The Consideration of Future Consequences Scale Among Malaysian Young Adults: A Psychometric Evaluation
    She L, Ma L, Khoshnavay Fomani F
    Front Psychol, 2021;12:770609.
    PMID: 34955987 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.770609
    Background: The consideration of future consequences (CFC) determines the extent to which individuals consider the potential future outcomes of their current behavior. The significance of assessing the CFC scale's validation in different contexts has been acknowledged by the previous studies. While the majority of the studies have been conducted in western countries, no study has been conducted in Malaysia. The aim of the current study was to validate a Malaysian version of the CFC scale among Malaysian young adults. Methods: The methodological cross-sectional approach was adopted in this study. The study recruited 529 young adults (age range from 25 to 40) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the paper survey. Construct validity was assessed using content validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and average inter-item correlation (AIC) were used to assess the scale's internal consistency. Also, composite reliability (CR) and maximal reliability (MaxR) were used to assess the construct reliability. Measurement invariance was tested across gender. Results: The findings of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the Malaysian version of the CFC scale has a two-factor structure (i.e., CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate) with 10-item explaining 61.682% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the two-factor structure of the CFC scale with good construct validity. The internal consistency and CR were acceptable. [The Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and CR for CFC-I were 0.901 (CI 95%: 0.881-918), 0.901, and 0.887, respectively. Also, these parameters for CFC-F were 0.867 (CI 95%: 0.838-891), 0.868, and 0.867, respectively]. Conclusion: We found acceptable psychometric evidence for the 10-item two-factors CFC scale used in the context of young adults in Malaysia. The validated instrument can be used in future studies to assess young adults' CFC tendency and CFC-related behavior in Malaysia.
  2. Fulltext Lymphangioma of the Dorsal Tongue
    Nelson BL, Bischoff EL, Nathan A, Ma L
    Head Neck Pathol, 2020 Jun;14(2):512-515.
    PMID: 31823215 DOI: 10.1007/s12105-019-01108-z
    Lymphangiomas are rare, congenital malformations of the lymphatic system which have a marked predilection for the head and neck. In this region, they most commonly occur on the dorsum of the tongue, followed by the lips, buccal mucosa, soft palate, and floor of the mouth. Lymphangiomas of the tongue are commonly present at birth; however, they may go unnoticed until after eruption of the dentition or even puberty. They may present as a defined mass or as macroglossia with impaired speech, difficulty in mastication, and, in extreme cases, airway obstruction. Clinically, lymphagiomas of the tongue are characterized by clusters of pebbly, vesicle-like nodules. A benign proliferation of lymphatic vessels is identified histologically. A classic case of a lymphangioma of the dorsal tongue is presented.
  3. Fulltext Online Learning Satisfaction During COVID-19 Pandemic Among Chinese University Students: The Serial Mediation Model
    She L, Ma L, Jan A, Sharif Nia H, Rahmatpour P
    Front Psychol, 2021;12:743936.
    PMID: 34675851 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.743936
    The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between interaction and online learning satisfaction, whether this relationship is mediated by academic self-efficacy and student engagement among Chinese university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A serial mediation model was developed to examine the proposed relationship. This study employed a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based research design. A sample of 1,504 Chinese university students (M age=19.89years, SD age=1.93) from five provinces in China completed an online survey questionnaire from December 2020 to January 2021 to respond to questions on demographic characteristics and items to measure the variables in the research model. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to assess the measurement model and proposed serial mediation model. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS software version 3.3.2. The results of the measurement model showed good reliability and validity for all constructs. The results of the structural model and hypothesis testing showed that all hypotheses were supported in this study. Particularly, there was a significant positive relationship between interaction and online learning satisfaction (Q1), interaction and academic self-efficacy (Q2), academic self-efficacy and student engagement (Q3), and the student engagement and online learning satisfaction (Q4). In addition, the results showed that academic self-efficacy and student engagement serial mediated the relationship between interaction and online learning satisfaction (Q5). The serial mediation model explained 34.6% of the variance of online learning satisfaction. The findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms that explain students' online learning satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Universities and policymakers need to make better decisions that ultimately could lead to students' academic outcomes and achievement.
  4. Engineering oxygen vacancies towards self-activated BaLuAl(x)Zn(4-x)O(7-(1-x)/2) photoluminescent materials: an experimental and theoretical analysis
    Ma L, Xia Z, Atuchin V, Molokeev M, Auluck S, Reshak AH, et al.
    Phys Chem Chem Phys, 2015 Dec 14;17(46):31188-94.
    PMID: 26542229 DOI: 10.1039/c5cp05130d
    Novel self-activated yellow-emitting BaLuAlxZn4-xO7-(1-x)/2 photoluminescent materials were investigated by a combined experimental and theoretical analysis. The effects of Al/Zn composition modulation, calcination atmosphere and temperature on the crystal structure and photoluminescence properties have been studied via engineering oxygen vacancies. Accordingly, BaLuAl0.91Zn3.09O7 prepared in an air atmosphere was found to be the stable crystalline phase with optimal oxygen content and gave a broad yellow emission band with a maximum at 528 nm. The self-activated luminescence mechanism is ascribed to the O-vacancies based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculation. A theoretical model originating from the designed oxygen vacancies has been proposed in order to determine the influence of O-vacancies on the band structure and self-activated luminescence. Therefore, the appearance of a new local energy level in the band gap will cause the wide-band optical transitions in the studied BaLuAlxZn4-xO7-(1-x)/2 materials.
  5. Fulltext Comparison of cold resistance physiological and biochemical features of four Herba Rhodiola seedlings under low temperature
    He S, Zhao K, Ma L, Yang J, Chang Y, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Mar;23(2):198-204.
    PMID: 26981000 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.10.007
    To discuss the cold resistance performance of different Herba Rhodiolae and successfully transplant Herba Rhodiolae to the Gansu plateau area for nursing, domestication and planting, this paper systematically studies six physiological and biochemical features of Rhodiola kirilowii, Rhodiola algida, Rhodiola crenulata and Herba Rhodiolae that are closely associated with cold resistance features and concludes with the cold resistance capability of Rhodiola kirilowii. In the selected six main indexes of the Herba Rhodiolae, the POD, SOD and CAT activity and MDA and Pro content in the leaf are the main physiological and biochemical indexes to indicate the cold resistance performance of four Herba Rhodiolae seedlings and can be regarded as the preliminary indexes to assess the winter performance of Herba Rhodiolae. The research work will provide the theoretical basis for the wild variants of Herba Rhodiolae and GAPJ base construction.
  6. Sparse PLS-Based Method for Overlapping Metabolite Set Enrichment Analysis
    Deng L, Ma L, Cheng KK, Xu X, Raftery D, Dong J
    J Proteome Res, 2021 06 04;20(6):3204-3213.
    PMID: 34002606 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.1c00064
    Metabolite set enrichment analysis (MSEA) has gained increasing research interest for identification of perturbed metabolic pathways in metabolomics. The method incorporates predefined metabolic pathways information in the analysis where metabolite sets are typically assumed to be mutually exclusive to each other. However, metabolic pathways are known to contain common metabolites and intermediates. This situation, along with limitations in metabolite detection or coverage leads to overlapping, incomplete metabolite sets in pathway analysis. For overlapping metabolite sets, MSEA tends to result in high false positives due to improper weights allocated to the overlapping metabolites. Here, we proposed an extended partial least squares (PLS) model with a new sparse scheme for overlapping metabolite set enrichment analysis, named overlapping group PLS (ogPLS) analysis. The weight vector of the ogPLS model was decomposed into pathway-specific subvectors, and then a group lasso penalty was imposed on these subvectors to achieve a proper weight allocation for the overlapping metabolites. Two strategies were adopted in the proposed ogPLS model to identify the perturbed metabolic pathways. The first strategy involves debiasing regularization, which was used to reduce inequalities amongst the predefined metabolic pathways. The second strategy is stable selection, which was used to rank pathways while avoiding the nuisance problems of model parameter optimization. Both simulated and real-world metabolomic datasets were used to evaluate the proposed method and compare with two other MSEA methods including Global-test and the multiblock PLS (MB-PLS)-based pathway importance in projection (PIP) methods. Using a simulated dataset with known perturbed pathways, the average true discovery rate for the ogPLS method was found to be higher than the Global-test and the MB-PLS-based PIP methods. Analysis with a real-world metabolomics dataset also indicated that the developed method was less prone to select pathways with highly overlapped detected metabolite sets. Compared with the two other methods, the proposed method features higher accuracy, lower false-positive rate, and is more robust when applied to overlapping metabolite set analysis. The developed ogPLS method may serve as an alternative MSEA method to facilitate biological interpretation of metabolomics data for overlapping metabolite sets.
  7. Cost is an important factor influencing active management of extremely preterm infants
    Ma L, Liu C, Cheah I, Yeo KT, Chambers GM, Kamar AA, et al.
    Acta Paediatr, 2019 01;108(1):70-75.
    PMID: 30080290 DOI: 10.1111/apa.14533
    AIM: The attitudes of neonatologists towards the active management of extremely premature infants in a developing country like China are uncertain.

    METHODS: A web-based survey was sent to neonatologists from 16 provinces representing 59.6% (824.2 million) of the total population of China on October 2015 and December 2017.

    RESULTS: A total of 117 and 219 responses were received in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Compared to 2015, respondents in 2017 were more likely to resuscitate infants <25 weeks of gestation (86% vs. 72%; p < 0.05), but few would resuscitate infants ≤23 weeks of gestation in either epoch (10% vs. 6%). In both epochs, parents were responsible for >50% of the costs of intensive care, but in 2017, significantly fewer clinicians would cease intensive care (75% vs. 88%; p < 0.05) and more would request for economic aid (40% vs. 20%; p < 0.05) if parents could not afford to pay. Resource availability (e.g. ventilators) was not an important factor in either initiation or continuation of intensive care (~60% in both epochs).

    CONCLUSION: Cost is an important factor in the initiation and continuation of neonatal intensive care in a developing country like China. Such factors need to be taken into consideration when interpreting outcome data from these regions.

  8. Growth of curved crystals: competition between topological defect nucleation and boundary branching
    Ma L, Liu X, Soh AK, He L, Wu C, Ni Y
    Soft Matter, 2019 May 15.
    PMID: 31090782 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm00507b
    Topological defect nucleation and boundary branching in crystal growth on a curved surface are two typical elastic instabilities driven by curvature induced stress, and have usually been discussed separately in the past. In this work they are simultaneously considered during crystal growth on a sphere. Phase diagrams with respect to sphere radius, size, edge energy and stiffness of the crystal for the equilibrium crystal morphologies are achieved by theoretical analysis and validated by Brownian dynamics simulations. The simulation results further demonstrate the detail of morphological evolution governed by these two different stress relaxation modes. Topological defect nucleation and boundary branching not only compete with each other but also coexist in a range of combinations of factors. Clarification of the interaction mechanism provides a better understanding of various curved crystal morphologies for their potential applications.
  9. Ganglioside Composition in Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Fish Determined Using Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry
    Fong BY, Ma L, Khor GL, van der Does Y, Rowan A, McJarrow P, et al.
    J Agric Food Chem, 2016 Aug 17;64(32):6295-305.
    PMID: 27436425 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b02200
    Gangliosides (GA) are found in animal tissues and fluids, such as blood and milk. These sialo-glycosphingolipids have bioactivities in neural development, the gastrointestinal tract, and the immune system. In this study, a high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) method was validated to characterize and quantitate the GA in beef, chicken, pork, and fish species (turbot, snapper, king salmon, and island mackerel). For the first time, we report the concentration of GM3, the dominant GA in these foods, as ranging from 0.35 to 1.1 mg/100 g and 0.70 to 5.86 mg/100 g of meat and fish, respectively. The minor GAs measured were GD3, GD1a, GD1b, and GT1b. Molecular species distribution revealed that the GA contained long- to very-long-chain acyl fatty acids attached to the ceramide moiety. Fish GA contained only N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) sialic acid, while beef, chicken, and pork contained GD1a/b species that incorporated both NeuAc and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc) and hydroxylated fatty acids.
  10. Fulltext Effect of core training on athletic and skill performance of basketball players: A systematic review
    Luo S, Soh KG, Zhao Y, Soh KL, Sun H, Nasiruddin NJM, et al.
    PLoS One, 2023;18(6):e0287379.
    PMID: 37347733 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287379
    A limited number of studies focus on the effect of core training on basketball players' athletic performance and skills. This systematic reviewaimed to comprehensively and critically review the available studies in the literature that investigate the impact of core training on basketball players' physical and skill performance, and then offer valuable recommendations for both coaches and researchers. Thedata collection, selection, and analysis adhered to the PRISMA protocol. English databases, including Ebscohost, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar,were searched until September 2022. A total of eight articles were included, with four studies comparing the effects of core training versus traditional strength training or usual basketball training. All studies investigated the impact of core training on athletic performance. The findings revealed that core training can help players improve their overall athletic and skill performance, particularly in the areas of strength, sprinting,jumping, balance, agility, shooting, dribbling, passing, rebounding, and stepping. In addition, core training, particularly on unstable surfaces,as well as combining static and dynamic core training,improvebasketball players' athletic and skill performance. Despite the relativelylittle evidence demonstrating the effect of core training on endurance, flexibility, and defensive skills, this review demonstrates that it should be incorporated into basketball training sessions.
  11. Cultural moderation in sports impact: exploring sports-induced effects on educational progress, cognitive focus, and social development in Chinese higher education
    Wang Q, Zainal Abidin NE, Aman MS, Wang N, Ma L, Liu P
    BMC Psychol, 2024 Feb 22;12(1):89.
    PMID: 38388547 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01584-1
    BACKGROUND: This research examines the nuanced challenges confronting Chinese university students within the dynamic milieu of Chinese education. The study comprehensively investigates factors encompassing educational progress, social development, cognitive focus, and Psychological Well-being (PWB), specifically emphasizing the role of sports participation.

    METHODS: To scrutinize the moderation-mediation nexus between cultural context and social development, a distribution of 500 questionnaires was administered to Chinese university students, yielding 413 responses, corresponding to an 82.6% response rate. Methodologically, this study employed moderation and mediation analyses, incorporating statistical techniques such as a principal component matrix, factor analysis, and hierarchical regression.

    FINDINGS: Prominent findings underscore the significant impact of age on educational progress, shaping the trajectory of academic advancement. Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) emerges as a promising metric, establishing a link between academic performance and educational progress. Active involvement in sports and physical activities (PSPA) positively affects academic performance and study habits. Participation in sports teams and clubs (ISTC) enriches social development by nurturing interpersonal relationships, teamwork, and leadership skills. Sports activities (ESA) correlate with enhanced cognitive focus and improved psychological well-being. Significantly, the findings unveil a nuanced association between Perceived Social Development Through Sports (PSDTS) and educational progress.

    CONCLUSIONS: Cultural Context (CC) moderates PSDTS, Sport-induced Cognitive Focus (SICF), and PWB, influencing educational progress. This study emphasizes the need for enhanced support systems-academic guidance, awareness, sports programs, and cultural competence training-to advance student well-being and academic achievement in China, fostering an empowering educational environment for societal progress.

  12. Fulltext A bioinformatics potpourri
    Schönbach C, Li J, Ma L, Horton P, Sjaugi MF, Ranganathan S
    BMC Genomics, 2018 01 19;19(Suppl 1):920.
    PMID: 29363432 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-4326-x
    The 16th International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB) was held at Tsinghua University, Shenzhen from September 20 to 22, 2017. The annual conference of the Asia-Pacific Bioinformatics Network featured six keynotes, two invited talks, a panel discussion on big data driven bioinformatics and precision medicine, and 66 oral presentations of accepted research articles or posters. Fifty-seven articles comprising a topic assortment of algorithms, biomolecular networks, cancer and disease informatics, drug-target interactions and drug efficacy, gene regulation and expression, imaging, immunoinformatics, metagenomics, next generation sequencing for genomics and transcriptomics, ontologies, post-translational modification, and structural bioinformatics are the subject of this editorial for the InCoB2017 supplement issues in BMC Genomics, BMC Bioinformatics, BMC Systems Biology and BMC Medical Genomics. New Delhi will be the location of InCoB2018, scheduled for September 26-28, 2018.
  13. Fulltext Rare Species Shift the Structure of Bacterial Communities Across Sphagnum Compartments in a Subalpine Peatland
    Tian W, Xiang X, Ma L, Evers S, Wang R, Qiu X, et al.
    Front Microbiol, 2019;10:3138.
    PMID: 32038572 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.03138
    Sphagnum-associated microbiomes are crucial to Sphagnum growth and peatland ecological functions. However, roles of rare species in bacterial communities across Sphagnum compartments are poorly understood. Here the structures of rare taxa (RT) and conditionally abundant and rare taxa (CART) from Sphagnum palustre peat (SP), S. palustre ectosphere (Ecto) and S. palustre endosphere (Endo) were investigated in the Dajiuhu Peatland, central China. Our results showed that plant compartment effects significantly altered the diversities and structures of bacterial communities. The Observed species and Simpson indices of RT and CART in alpha diversity significantly increased from Endo to SP, with those of Ecto in-between. The variations of community dissimilarities of RT and CART among compartments were consistent with those of whole bacterial communities (WBC). Network analysis indicated a non-random co-occurrence pattern of WBC and all keystone species are affiliated with RT and CART, indicating their important role in sustaining the WBC. Furthermore, the community structures of RT and CART in SP were significantly shaped by water table and total nitrogen content, which coincided with the correlations between WBC and environmental factors. Collectively, our results for the first time confirm the importance of rare species to bacterial communities through structural and predicted functional analyses, which expands our understanding of rare species in Sphagnum-associated microbial communities in subalpine peatlands.
  14. A series of anionic host coordination polymers based on azoxybenzene carboxylate: structures, luminescence and magnetic properties
    Feng X, Guo N, Chen H, Wang H, Yue L, Chen X, et al.
    Dalton Trans, 2017 Oct 24;46(41):14192-14200.
    PMID: 28990615 DOI: 10.1039/c7dt02974h
    A series of coordination polymers {[Ln(aobtc)(H2O)4]·Hbipy·H2O}n (H4aobtc = azoxybenzene-2,2',3,3'-tetracarboxylic acid, bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine, and Ln = Sm(1), Eu(2), Gd(3), Tb(4), Dy(5), Er(6)) have been synthesized and characterized systematically. The cationic Hbipy(+) guest incorporated polymers are isostructural sets, featuring a one-dimensional (1D) zigzag double chain edifice composed of binuclear clusters [Ln2(H4aobtc)2], with the Hbipy(+) guest being located on two sides. These 1D chains are further interlinked into a 2D layer structure, and further extended into a 3D framework through hydrogen bonding interactions. The luminescence emission spectra of polymers 2 and 3 are based on the H4aobtc acid ligands, while 1 and 4 display the characteristic f-f transitions of Ln(iii) ions. Magnetic measurements revealed the presence of ferromagnetic behavior in polymer 3. The magnetic behaviors of 4 and 6 are ascribed to the depopulation of the Stark levels and/or weak antiferromagnetic interactions within MOFs at lower temperature. Slow relaxation is observed through the alternating-current susceptibility measurements for 5 at lower temperature, and the coexistence of weak ferromagnetism corresponding to the spin-canting-like behavior.
  15. The impact of student computer competency on e-learning outcomes: A path analysis model of virtual learning infrastructure, collaboration, and access to electronic facilities
    Sharif-Nia H, Arslan G, Reardon J, Allen KA, Ma L, She L, et al.
    Nurs Open, 2024 Mar;11(3):e2130.
    PMID: 38486130 DOI: 10.1002/nop2.2130
    AIM: This study explored the influence of student computer competency on e-learning outcomes among Iranian nursing students and examined its mediating role in the relationship between virtual learning infrastructure, student collaboration, access to electronic facilities, and e-learning outcomes.

    DESIGN: A cross sectional study.

    METHOD: A self-administered online survey was used from August to October 2022, with a sample size of 417 nursing students selected through convenience sampling. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and PROCESS macro v4.1 (Model 4) were used for data analysis.

    RESULTS: The results revealed that virtual learning infrastructure, access to electronic facilities, and student collaboration, significantly predict student computer competency and e-learning outcomes. Virtual learning infrastructure and access to electronic facilities were found to be the strongest predictors of student computer competency, while student collaboration had a smaller but still significant effect. Student computer competency was found to mediate the relationship between virtual learning infrastructure, access to electronic facilities, student collaboration, and e-learning outcomes.

  16. Fulltext Multiple Metal-Nitrogen Bonds Synergistically Boosting the Activity and Durability of High-Entropy Alloy Electrocatalysts
    Zhao X, Cheng H, Chen X, Zhang Q, Li C, Xie J, et al.
    J Am Chem Soc, 2024 Feb 07;146(5):3010-3022.
    PMID: 38278519 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c08177
    The development of Pt-based catalysts for use in fuel cells that meet performance targets of high activity, maximized stability, and low cost remains a huge challenge. Herein, we report a nitrogen (N)-doped high-entropy alloy (HEA) electrocatalyst that consists of a Pt-rich shell and a N-doped PtCoFeNiCu core on a carbon support (denoted as N-Pt/HEA/C). The N-Pt/HEA/C catalyst showed a high mass activity of 1.34 A mgPt-1 at 0.9 V for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in rotating disk electrode (RDE) testing, which substantially outperformed commercial Pt/C and most of the other binary/ternary Pt-based catalysts. The N-Pt/HEA/C catalyst also demonstrated excellent stability in both RDE and membrane electrode assembly (MEA) testing. Using operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements and theoretical calculations, we revealed that the enhanced ORR activity of N-Pt/HEA/C originated from the optimized adsorption energy of intermediates, resulting in the tailored electronic structure formed upon N-doping. Furthermore, we showed that the multiple metal-nitrogen bonds formed synergistically improved the corrosion resistance of the 3d transition metals and enhanced the ORR durability.
  17. What does the world think of ankyloglossia?
    Jin RR, Sutcliffe A, Vento M, Miles C, Travadi J, Kishore K, et al.
    Acta Paediatr, 2018 10;107(10):1733-1738.
    PMID: 29385272 DOI: 10.1111/apa.14242
    AIM: The diagnosis of tongue-tie (or ankyloglossia) has increased more than 10-fold in some countries. Whether this is a global phenomenon or related to cultural and professional differences is uncertain.

    METHODS: An online survey in English, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish was disseminated between May and November 2016 via 27 international professional bodies to >30 clinical professions chosen a priori to represent occupations involved in the management of neonatal ankyloglossia.

    RESULTS: A total of 1721 responses came from nursing (51%), medical (40%), dental (6%) and allied health (4%) clinicians. Nurses (40%) and allied health (34%) professionals were more likely than doctors (8%) to consider ankyloglossia as important for lactation problems, as were western (83%) compared to Asian (52%) clinicians. Referrals to clinicians for ankyloglossia management originated mainly from parents (38%). Interprofessional referrals were not clearly defined. Frenectomies were most likely to be performed by surgeons (65%) and dentists (35%), who were also less likely to be involved in lactation support. Clinicians performing frenectomies were more likely to consider analgesia as important compared to those not performing frenectomies.

    CONCLUSION: The diagnosis and treatment of ankyloglossia vary considerably around the world and between professions. Efforts to standardise management are required.

  18. Fulltext Human Milk Oligosaccharide, Phospholipid, and Ganglioside Concentrations in Breast Milk from United Arab Emirates Mothers: Results from the MISC Cohort
    McJarrow P, Radwan H, Ma L, MacGibbon AKH, Hashim M, Hasan H, et al.
    Nutrients, 2019 Oct 08;11(10).
    PMID: 31597293 DOI: 10.3390/nu11102400
    Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), phospholipids (PLs), and gangliosides (GAs) are components of human breast milk that play important roles in the development of the rapidly growing infant. The differences in these components in human milk from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were studied in a cross-sectional trial. High-performance liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry was used to determine HMO, PL, and GA concentrations in transitional (5-15 days) and mature (at 6 months post-partum) breast milk of mothers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The results showed that the average HMO (12 species), PL (7 species), and GA (2 species) concentrations quantified in the UAE mothers' transitional milk samples were (in mg/L) 8204 ± 2389, 269 ± 89, and 21.18 ± 11.46, respectively, while in mature milk, the respective concentrations were (in mg/L) 3905 ± 1466, 220 ± 85, and 20.18 ± 9.75. The individual HMO concentrations measured in this study were all significantly higher in transitional milk than in mature milk, except for 3 fucosyllactose, which was higher in mature milk. In this study, secretor and non-secretor phenotype mothers showed no significant difference in the total HMO concentration. For the PL and GA components, changes in the individual PL and GA species distribution was observed between transitional milk and mature milk. However, the changes were within the ranges found in human milk from other regions.
  19. Fulltext Clinical Diagnosis and Early Medical Management for Endometriosis: Consensus from Asian Expert Group
    Kim MR, Chapron C, Römer T, Aguilar A, Chalermchockcharoenkit A, Chatterjee S, et al.
    Healthcare (Basel), 2022 Dec 12;10(12).
    PMID: 36554040 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10122515
    This work provides consensus guidance regarding clinical diagnosis and early medical management of endometriosis within Asia. Clinicians with expertise in endometriosis critically evaluated available evidence on clinical diagnosis and early medical management and their applicability to current clinical practices. Clinical diagnosis should focus on symptom recognition, which can be presumed to be endometriosis without laparoscopic confirmation. Transvaginal sonography can be appropriate for diagnosing pelvic endometriosis in select patients. For early empiric treatment, management of women with clinical presentation suggestive of endometriosis should be individualized and consider presentation and therapeutic need. Medical treatment is recommended to reduce endometriosis-associated pelvic pain for patients with no immediate pregnancy desires. Hormonal treatment can be considered for pelvic pain with a clinical endometriosis diagnosis; progestins are a first-line management option for early medical treatment, with oral progestin-based therapies generally a better option compared with combined oral contraceptives because of their safety profile. Dienogest can be used long-term if needed and a larger evidence base supports dienogest use compared with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) as first-line medical therapy. GnRHa may be considered for first-line therapy in some specific situations or as short-term therapy before dienogest and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as add-on therapy for endometriosis-associated pelvic pain.
  20. Fulltext Shewanella phage encoding a putative anti-CRISPR-like gene represents a novel potential viral family
    Wang H, Zheng K, Wang M, Ma K, Ren L, Guo R, et al.
    Microbiol Spectr, 2024 Feb 06;12(2):e0336723.
    PMID: 38214523 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03367-23
    Shewanella is a prevalent bacterial genus in deep-sea environments including marine sediments, exhibiting diverse metabolic capabilities that indicate its significant contributions to the marine biogeochemical cycles. However, only a few Shewanella phages were isolated and deposited in the NCBI database. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of a novel Shewanella phage, vB_SbaS_Y11, that infects Shewanella KR11 and was isolated from the sewage in Qingdao, China. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that vB_SbaS_Y11 has an icosahedral head and a long tail. The genome of vB_SbaS_Y11 is a linear, double-stranded DNA with a length of 62,799 bp and a G+C content of 46.9%, encoding 71 putative open reading frames. No tRNA genes or integrase-related feature genes were identified. An uncharacterized anti-CRISPR AcrVA2 gene was detected in its genome. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences of whole genomes and comparative genomic analyses indicate that vB_SbaS_Y11 has a novel genomic architecture and shares low similarity to Pseudomonas virus H66 and Pseudomonas phage F116. vB_SbaS_Y11 represents a potential new family-level virus cluster with eight metagenomic assembled viral genomes named Ranviridae.IMPORTANCEThe Gram-negative Shewanella bacterial genus currently includes about 80 species of mostly aquatic Gammaproteobacteria, which were isolated around the globe in a multitude of environments, such as freshwater, seawater, coastal sediments, and the deepest trenches. Here, we present a Shewanella phage vB_SbaS_Y11 that contains an uncharacterized anti-CRISPR AcrVA2 gene and belongs to a potential virus family, Ranviridae. This study will enhance the knowledge about the genome, diversity, taxonomic classification, and global distribution of Shewanella phage populations.
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