438 research outputs found
Psychological distress among healthcare professionals at the frontlines: anaesthesiologists’ perspective
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic raging in Malaysia has been one of the greatest challenges so far since its formation, and standing at the forefront of this “war” are Malaysian healthcare practitioners. We sought to capture a snapshot of the psychological distress encountered by those in the medical profession standing at the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, by carrying out a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence of burnout and depression risk among anaesthesiology clinicians in a nationally designated exclusive COVID-19 hospital. We utilised validated questionnaires and included all the clinicians (n=88) in the Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Department. This study was conducted throughout the month of May 2020, which corresponded to the end of the first Malaysian Government Movement Control Order (from 18th March to 3rd May 2020). Results showed that more than half of anaesthesiologists managing COVID-19 patients suffered from burnout, and up to 67% had a high risk of depression. Both burnout and depression are significantly associated with one another. The findings are discussed, followed by recommendations for preventative strategies to increase the mental fortitude of healthcare practitioners in Malaysia
Psychological distress among healthcare professionals at the frontlines: anaesthesiologists’ perspective
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic raging in Malaysia has been one of the greatest challenges so far since its formation, and standing at the forefront of this “war” are Malaysian healthcare practitioners. We sought to capture a snapshot of the psychological distress encountered by those in the medical profession standing at the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, by carrying out a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence of burnout and depression risk among anaesthesiology clinicians in a nationally designated exclusive COVID-19 hospital. We utilised validated questionnaires and included all the clinicians (n=88) in the Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Department. This study was conducted throughout the month of May 2020, which corresponded to the end of the first Malaysian Government Movement Control Order (from 18th March to 3rd May 2020). Results showed that more than half of anaesthesiologists managing COVID-19 patients suffered from burnout, and up to 67% had a high risk of depression. Both burnout and depression are significantly associated with one another. The findings are discussed, followed by recommendations for preventative strategies to increase the mental fortitude of healthcare practitioners in Malaysia
Solidification/stabilisation of soil contaminated with metal: a review
No full textSolidification/stabilisation (S/S) is generically defined as a chemical and physical alteration technique of reducing the mobility as well as solubility of contaminants in wastes in order to convert them into chemically inert form. The technique is specifically developed to confine the movement of contaminants in wastes so that their concentrations in the surrounding environment (e.g. subsurface soil matrices and groundwater) will not exceed stipulated environmental regulatory levels. This technique necessitates application of cementitious materials such as cement which also provides a favorable solidification effect on the stabilised wastes so that the end product can be easily transported to disposal sites or reused as construction materials. This paper reviews the S/S technology as applied to contaminated soil treatment with emphasis on its chemical binder systems, mechanisms, interferences and post-treatment leaching tests. S/S is an important soil contamination remediation technology as evident by its simplicity, technical and cost-effectiveness
A proteomic investigation of Fusobacterium nucleatum alkaline-induced biofilms
No full textBackground: The Gram negative anaerobe Fusobacterium nucleatum has been implicated in the aetiology of periodontal diseases. Although frequently isolated from healthy dental plaque, its numbers and proportion increase in plaque associated with disease. One of the significant physico-chemical changes in the diseased gingival sulcus is increased environmental pH. When grown under controlled conditions in our laboratory, F. nucleatum subspecies polymorphum formed mono-culture biofilms when cultured at pH 8.2. Biofilm formation is a survival strategy for bacteria, often associated with altered physiology and increased virulence. A proteomic approach was used to understand the phenotypic changes in F. nucleatum cells associated with alkaline induced biofilms. The proteomic based identification of significantly altered proteins was verified where possible using additional methods including quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), enzyme assay, acidic end-product analysis, intracellular polyglucose assay and Western blotting. Results: Of 421 proteins detected on two-dimensional electrophoresis gels, spot densities of 54 proteins varied significantly (p < 0.05) in F. nucleatum cultured at pH 8.2 compared to growth at pH 7.4. Proteins that were differentially produced in biofilm cells were associated with the functional classes; metabolic enzymes, transport, stress response and hypothetical proteins. Our results suggest that biofilm cells were more metabolically efficient than planktonic cells as changes to amino acid and glucose metabolism generated additional energy needed for survival in a sub-optimal environment. The intracellular concentration of stress response proteins including heat shock protein GroEL and recombinational protein RecA increased markedly in the alkaline environment. A significant finding was the increased abundance of an adhesin, Fusobacterial outer membrane protein A (FomA). This surface protein is known for its capacity to bind to a vast number of bacterial species and human epithelial cells and its increased abundance was associated with biofilm formation. Conclusion: This investigation identified a number of proteins that were significantly altered by F. nucleatum in response to alkaline conditions similar to those reported in diseased periodontal pockets. The results provide insight into the adaptive mechanisms used by F. nucleatum biofilms in response to pH increase in the host environment.Jactty Chew, Peter S Zilm, Janet M Fuss and Neville J Gull
Multiple tandem splicing silencer elements suppress aberrant splicing within the long exon 26 of the human Apolipoprotein B gene.
No full textABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Apolipoprotein B (APOB) is an integral component of the chylomicron and the atherogenic lipoproteins LDL and Lp(a). Exon 26 of the APOB pre-mRNA is unusually long at 7,572 nt and is constitutively spliced. It is also subject to RNA editing in the intestine, which generates a shortened isoform, APOB48, assembled exclusively into chylomicrons. Due to its length, exon 26 contains multiple pseudo splice sites which are not spliced, but which conform to the degenerate splice site consensus. RESULTS: We demonstrate that these pseudo splice sites are repressed by multiple, tandem splicing silencers distributed along the length of exon 26. The distribution of these elements appears to be heterogeneous, with a greater frequency in the middle 4,800 nt of the exon. CONCLUSION: Repression of these splice sites is key to maintaining the integrity of exon 26 during RNA splicing and therefore the correct expression of both isoforms of APOB
Abstract 4356: An isoform-resolution transcriptomic atlas of colorectal cancer from long-read single-cell sequencing
No full textColorectal cancer (CRC), a complex and molecularly heterogenous disease that lacks robust predictive markers and targeted therapies, is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In recent years, technological advances in short-read single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) have been instrumental in deciphering tumor cell heterogeneities. However, most studies have focused on gene-level expression quantification without considering alterations in transcript structures arising from widespread alternative end processing and/or splicing which are frequently dysregulated in cancer. Here, we combined short- and long-read scRNA-seq of CRC patient samples to build the first isoform-resolution CRC transcriptomic atlas. We identified 394 dysregulated transcript structures in tumor epithelial cells, including 299 derived from the coupling of multiple alternative splicing events. Additionally, we characterized genes and isoforms associated with different colon epithelial lineages and tumor cell subpopulations exhibiting varying levels of stemness and differentiation, as well as their distinct prognostic implications. Finally, we built an algorithm by integrating mass spectrometry data and novel peptides derived from predicted open reading frames of recurrent tumor-specific transcripts to curate a panel of recurring neoepitopes. Overall, this study unveils the transcriptomic landscape of CRC and may drive the identification of neoantigens based on full-length transcriptomic atlases to aid future development of more universal neoantigen-based cancer vaccines.
Citation Format: Zhongxiao Li, Bin Zhang, Jia Jia Chan, Hossein Tabatabaeian, Qing Yun Tong, Xiao Hong Chew, Xiaonan Fan, Charlene Chan, Patrick Driguez, Faith Cheong, Shi Wang, Bei En Siew, Ian Jse-Wei Tan, Kai-Yin Lee, Bettina Lieske, Wai-Kit Cheong, Dennis Kappei, Ker-Kan Tan, Xin Gao, Yvonne Tay. An isoform-resolution transcriptomic atlas of colorectal cancer from long-read single-cell sequencing [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4356
The changing HRM practices of Japanese firms and the impacts on compensation practices of Japanese affiliates in Malaysia
No full text2005-03-11The purpose of this article is three-fold. First, it explains the reason behind the fading importance of conventional Japanese Human Resource Management Systems (CJHRMS) in Japan and the implementation problems following the adoption of pay-for-performance system (PFPS) by Japanese firms. Secondly, the author tries to identify general HRM practices of Japanese affiliates in Malaysia, in particular, the compensation system and performance appraisal system. Lastly, the third purpose is to obtain a more complete understanding of the issues facing Malaysian employees of Japanese affiliates as well as to find whether or not ethnocentric1 Japanese affiliates are encountering human resources (HR) problems similar to those in Japan as a result of CJHRMS. The research reveals that most of the HRM practices in the Japanese affiliates are ethnocentric. However, a minority of them adopt polycentric orientations on compensation schemes to a varying degree. The HR orientation to attract highly-competent Malaysian workforce is mainly driven by policies and strategies of the parent firm and organizational background of the Japanese affiliate. As a result of CJHRMS, Japanese affiliates with ethnocentric compensation practices are facing structural, operational and motivation problems similar to those of parent firms. Even when Japanese affiliates adopt PFPS in accordance with parent firms’ practices, research reveals that formal policies and actual practices are different. Japanese affiliates should continue modifying their CJHRMS to appeal to Malaysians and fine-tune their retention strategies to secure and motivate highlycompetent Malaysian workforce.departmental bulletin pape
Fibreoptic intubation--a case series and brief review
No full textFibreoptic intubation has been established as a major advance in the management of difficult or failed intubation in the awake patient. If necessary, it may be performed under general anaesthesia with either spontaneous or controlled ventilation. This should be considered early in the management of failed intubation, before multiple attempts with other techniques lead to haemorrhage and oedema in the airway. We describe here selected case reports to illustrate this in 8 different situations. This is followed by a brief review of the technique and indications of fibreoptic intubation
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