METHODS: Retrospective review of consecutive rEBUS bronchoscopy performed with a 6.2 mm conventional bronchoscope navigated via manual bronchial branch reading technique over 18 months.
RESULTS: Ninety-eight target lesions were included. Median lesion size was 2.67 cm (IQR 2.22-3.38) with 96.9% demonstrating positive CT bronchus sign. Majority (86.7%) of lesions were situated in between the third and fifth airway generations. Procedure was performed with endotracheal intubation in 43.9% and fluoroscopy in 72.4%. 98.9% of lesions were successfully navigated and verified by rEBUS following the pre-planned airway road map. Bidirectional guiding device was employed in 29.6% of cases. Clinical diagnosis was secured in 88.8% of cases, majority of which were malignant disease. The discrepancy between navigation success and diagnostic yield was 10.1%. Target PPL located within five airway generations was associated with better diagnostic yield (95.1% vs. 58.8%, P
METHODS: Corn was harvested at four growth stages; silking, milk, dough, and dent stages from four varieties; Sweet Corn hybrid 926, Suwan, breeding test line (BTL) 1 and BTL 2. Using a split plot design, the treatments were then analysed based on the plant growth performance, yield, nutritive and feeding values followed by a financial feasibility study for potential commercialization.
RESULTS: Significant differences and interactions were detected across the parameters suggesting varying responses among the varieties towards the harvest stages. Sweet Corn was best harvested early in the dough stage due to high dry matter (DM) yield, digestible nutrient, and energy content with low fibre portion. Suwan was recommended to be harvested at the dent stage when it gave the highest DM yield with optimum digestible nutrient and energy content with low acid detergent fibre. BTL 1 and BTL 2 varieties can either be harvested at dough or dent stages as the crude protein, crude fibre, DM yield, DM content, digestible nutrient and energy were not significantly different at either stage. Further financial analysis showed that only Sweet Corn production was not financially feasible while Suwan had the best financial appraisal values among the grain varieties.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, only the grain varieties tested had the potential for silage making according to their optimum harvest stage but Suwan is highly recommended for commercialization as it was the most profitable.
Methods: This intervention study was carried out using selected overweight and obese adults in Sarawak. A total of 75 participants were placed in the intervention group, and 80 respondents were placed in the control group participated. Respondent-determined weekly aerobic exercise sessions were conducted for six months. The Malay version of the long-form International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and Transtheoretical model of change (TTM) questionnaire were used, together with anthropometric measurements and the collection of venous fasting blood profiles. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 20.
Results: The intervention group had significant better stage transitions compared to the control group (p<0.01). They also had significantly lower total cholesterol, although both groups showed significant results (difference= 0.53, p<0.01; difference= 0.38, p=0.01). The respondent-determined intervention program was effective in improving stage transition; however, an intervention of longer duration could provide more conclusive health outcomes.
Conclusion: Physical activity plays a role in assisting overweight and obese adults to be more active and healthier.
Methods: Data from 160 hypertensive patients from a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were used in this study. Variables were ranked based on their significance to adherence levels using the RF variable importance method. The backward elimination method was then performed using RF to obtain the variables significantly associated with the patients' adherence levels. RF, SVR and ANN models were developed to predict adherence using the identified significant variables. Visualizations of the relationships between hypertensive patients' adherence levels and variables were generated using SOM.
Result: Machine learning models constructed using the selected variables reported RMSE values of 1.42 for ANN, 1.53 for RF, and 1.55 for SVR. The accuracy of the dichotomised scores, calculated based on a percentage of correctly identified adherence values, was used as an additional model performance measure, resulting in accuracies of 65% (ANN), 78% (RF) and 79% (SVR), respectively. The Wilcoxon signed ranked test reported that there was no significant difference between the predictions of the machine learning models and the actual scores. The significant variables identified from the RF variable importance method were educational level, marital status, General Overuse, monthly income, and Specific Concern.
Conclusion: This study suggests an effective alternative to conventional methods in identifying the key variables to understand hypertensive patients' adherence levels. This can be used as a tool to educate patients on the importance of medication in managing hypertension.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was an open-label randomized controlled trial of six weeks. Forty overweight and obese participants with knee OA were randomly divided into two groups by a computer-generated number. The participants in the Instruction Group (IG) were provided with leaflets explaining IDC for the duration of six weeks. Both groups were instructed to take low doses of the non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) on alternate days. The outcome measures were pain, mobility and BMI. The feasibility and acceptability of knee pain and mobility were assessed using a questionnaire designed by experts in rehabilitation.
RESULTS: Participants in the IG reported more statistically significant pain relief as assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index score (p=0.001) and improvement in mobility (p=0.000) assessed by the Timed Up and Go test score after six weeks compared to the Control Group (CG). Both groups did not demonstrate any significant change in BMI (p-value > 0.05). The results of descriptive statistics showed a significantly higher satisfaction score for participants who received a combination of IDC and NSAIDs, indicating an acceptable intervention.
CONCLUSION: The IDC is effective and acceptable in terms of improving pain and mobility and should be recommended as the usual care of treatment.
METHODS: Seven (7) ASPECT members were approached to provide a harmonised anonymised dataset from their local registry. Patient characteristics were summarised and associations between the characteristics and in-hospital outcomes for STEMI patients were analysed.
RESULTS: Six (6) participating sites (86%) provided governance approvals for the collation of individual anonymised patient data from 2015 to 2017. Five (5) sites (83%) provided >90% of agreed data elements and 68% of the collated elements had <10% missingness. From the registry (n=12,620), 84% were male. The mean age was 59.2±12.3 years. The Malaysian cohort had a high prevalence of previous myocardial infarction (34%), almost twice that of any other sites (p<0.001). Adverse in-hospital outcomes were the lowest in Hong Kong whilst in-hospital mortality varied from 2.7% in Vietnam to 7.9% in Singapore.
CONCLUSIONS: Governance approvals for the collation of individual patient anonymised data was achieved with a high level of data alignment. Secure data transfer process and repository were established. Patient characteristics and presentation varied significantly across the Asia-Pacific region with this likely to be a major predictor of variations in the clinical outcomes observed across the region.
METHODS: VALID is a prospective, multi-center, multinational validation study that will assess the accuracy and feasibility of measuring VA function, defined as the need for interventions to enable and maintain the use of a VA for HD. The primary objective is to determine whether VA function can be measured accurately by clinical staff as part of routine clinical practice (Assessor 1) compared to the reference standard of documented VA procedures collected by a VA expert (Assessor 2) during a 6-month follow-up period. Secondary outcomes include feasibility and acceptability of measuring VA function and the time to, rate of, and type of VA interventions. An estimated 612 participants will be recruited from approximately 10 dialysis units of different size, type (home-, in-center and satellite), governance (private versus public), and location (rural versus urban) across Australia, Canada, Europe, and Malaysia. Validity will be measured by the sensitivity and specificity of the data acquisition process. The sensitivity corresponds to the proportion of correctly identified interventions by Assessor 1, among the interventions identified by Assessor 2 (reference standard). The feasibility of measuring VA function will be assessed by the average data collection time, data completeness, feasibility questionnaires and semi-structured interviews on key feasibility aspects with the assessors.
DISCUSSION: Accuracy, acceptability, and feasibility of measuring VA function as part of routine clinical practice are required to facilitate global implementation of this core outcome across all HD trials. Global use of a standardized, patient-centered outcome measure for VA function in HD research will enhance the consistency and relevance of trial evidence to guide patient-centered care.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03969225. Registered on 31st May 2019.