Objective To analyze the outcomes of adjustable and set-pressure valves in the management of communicating hydrocephalus in children. Methods A retrospective study reviewing the medical records of 66 children with communicating hydrocephalus who received ventriculoperitoneal shunt at our center from January 2003 to December 2009 was performed. All the patients were divided into 2 groups: Codman Hakim adjustable valve group (n=27) and Medtronic set-pressure valve group (n=39). Rate of appearing complication and shunt survival time were analyzed between the 2 groups.Results The rate of shunt infection, proximal or distal obstruction, subdural hematoma and subdural hygroma showed no statistical significance between patients of the adjustable and set-pressure valve groups (P=1.000, P=0.727, P=0.455, P=0.691, respectively). The average shunt survival time of children in the adjustable valve group was 52.551 months (38.169-66.852, 95% CI) and that of children in the set-pressure valve group was 42.327 (31.636-53.019, 95%CI); no statistical significance on the average shunt survival time between these 2 groups was noted (x2=0.763, P=0.382).Conclusion The adjustable valve is not superior to set-pressure valve in the treatment of communicating hydrocephalus in children.

Amputation ; Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia ; Fibrinolytic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Limb Salvage ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Risk Factors ; Singapore ; Treatment Outcome

In order to solve the problem of selection and in vivo delivery problem in siRNA treatment, hepatitis B virus (HBV) HBx gene which could be targeted by siRNA was studied. The siRNA expression plasmid which specific inhibits HBx expression was obtained by in vitro selection via a dual-luciferase plasmid including HBx-Fluc fusion protein expression domain. The selected siRNA expression plasmid was then encapsulated in PEG-modified cationic liposome, which was devoted into pharmacodynamic studies at both cellular and animal level. The results illustrated that the cationic liposome which encapsulated siRNA expression plasmid could effectively inhibit HBx gene expression both in vitro and in vivo.
Cations ; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral ; drug effects ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Liposomes ; chemistry ; Plasmids ; RNA, Small Interfering ; chemistry ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; metabolism

INTRODUCTION: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare, benign, chronic breast condition that can cause repeated abscesses or mass formation in bilateral breasts. The condition can severely impact the quality of life of affected women. This study aims to evaluate effective treatment modalities, as well as understand the demographics and clinical presentation of patients with IGM. METHODS: An 11-year retrospective review was performed of patients diagnosed with IGM from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2018 at a tertiary breast unit. RESULTS: A total of 77 patients were included in the study. The median age at presentation was 36 years old. IGM presented most commonly as a breast lump (98.1%). The median number of flares was 2 (1-12). Of the 77 patients, 68.8% (53) were treated with antibiotics, 50.6% (39) with steroids, and 44.2% (34) underwent surgery, in the course of their IGM treatment. Forty-five (59.2%) of the 76 patients with IGM required a multimodal treatment approach to achieve remission. There was no significant difference in the number of flares no matter the initial treatment ( CONCLUSION IGM is a clinical diagnosis. It is a rare, relapsing breast inflammatory condition that affects young females with no superior treatment modality. Smoking is associated with higher number of flares of IGM and should be discouraged in IGM patients.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Granulomatous Mastitis/therapy* ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

INTRODUCTIONToy-related injuries, a common reason for emergency department visits in the paediatric population, constitute a significant health burden in Singapore. Although government regulations imposed on toys and childcare-related items are in place, parents and caregivers still play a pivotal role in ensuring toy safety in children. We hypothesised that deficiencies in knowledge surrounding toy safety issues exist in our adult population.

METHODSWe conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, to examine the current attitudes, knowledge and practices of the local population regarding toy safety. Hypothetical questions on toy selection were included in the questionnaire to assess respondents' ability to identify appropriate toys and discern potentially dangerous toys for a specified age group.

RESULTSThe scores of the 93 respondents showed that they were less able to identify appropriate toys for children in the 1-2 years (66.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 61.4%-72.0%) and 2-3 years age groups (69.9%; 95% CI 65.5%-74.3%) than for children in the 0-1 year (82.8%; 95% CI 79.9%-85.7%) and 3-5 years age groups (85.2%; 95% CI 81.2%-89.2%). Our survey also identified key areas for improvement (e.g. educational efforts and government regulation) in current practices in order to attain a higher level of toy safety.

CONCLUSIONOur study highlights the current knowledge deficit in toy safety issues and the need for improvements in regulation, education and surveillance in order to minimise the risk of toy-related injuries in children.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Child ; Child Welfare ; Child, Preschool ; Confidence Intervals ; Consumer Product Safety ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Needs Assessment ; Play and Playthings ; injuries ; Singapore ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Wounds and Injuries ; etiology ; physiopathology

INTRODUCTION: Advanced breast cancer (ABC) remains common in Singapore. In 2019, 22.1% of breast cancer patients presented with ABC in our institution. Despite increasing affluence and the advent of national mammographic screening, the incidence of ABC has not changed significantly. This suggests inherent differences in women who present late. We aim to explore the socio-economic background, knowledge and attitudes of women who present with ABC. METHODS: Between December 2013 and July 2015, 100 patients who presented consecutively with ABC in a tertiary institution in Singapore were recruited to participate in an interviewer-led questionnaire exploring psychosocial and economic issues. RESULTS: Among the 100 patients, 63 and 37 presented with stages 3 and 4 breast cancer respectively. Median age was 57 (27-86), 52% had at least secondary education, 53% had no formal employment and 71% were married; 88% were aware of breast cancer symptoms, 82% were aware that mammography can help detect cancer, 82% believed that current treatment modality for breast cancer is effective, 96% had never undergone a mammography and 52.9% felt mammograms were unnecessary. A total of 64% presented symptomatic from the breast tumour, with a median duration of 3 months. Many of the patients were aware of breast cancer symptoms and the utility of mammography. However, a group of patients did not comply with screening. This may be due to poor understanding about breast screening and detection in its asymptomatic phase. CONCLUSION Further public education to improve understanding of breast cancer and screening mammography may help to improve rates for earlier detection of breast cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the lethal concentration, oviposition deterrence and ovicidal activity of acetone extracts of Melanochyla fasciculiflora (M. fasciculiflora) leaf and Gluta renghas (G. renghas) leaf against Aedes albopictus (Ae. albopictus). Methods: To determine the lethal concentration of Anacardiaceae, ten test concentrations of the extracts ranging from 200 to 650 mg/L were selected for larvicidal bioassays and 25 early fourth instar larvae were exposed to the extracts for 24 h. The sub-lethal concentrations used for oviposition deterrence was the value of LC25, LC50 and LC75 from above study which is 235 mg/L, 470 mg/L and 705 mg/L for M. fasciculiflora extract and 187.5 mg/L, 375 mg/L and 562.5 mg/L for G. renghas extract, respectively. Twenty gravid Ae. albopictus were allowed to oviposit in different treated concentrations. For oviciding procedure, a total of 300 eggs of Ae. albopictus were soaked in solution with each treated concentration as mentioned above for 24 h. After 24 h, eggs were sieved and soaked in seasoned water, and hatching rates were calculated. For comparison, only seasoned water was used in control experiment. Results: G. renghas demonstrated lower LC50 value of 372.80 mg/L compared to M. fasciculiflora (467.90 mg/L). The activity index of negative oviposition revealed the deterrent effect and thus, caused a remarkable negative response resulting in oviposition of fewer eggs compared with control (without plant extract). The acetone extract of M. fasciculiflora was more effective than G. renghas extract in displaying oviposition deterrence potential since the latter did not possess the deterring effect within the concentration range tested. However, both plant extracts exhibited excellent oviciding effect as 92.33% of eggs failed to be hatched when treated with 705.0 mg/L of M. fasciculiflora and 86.67% with 562.5 mg/L of G. renghas. The oviposition deterrence and percentage of egg mortality were directly proportional to the concentrations of extracts in both plants tested. Conclusions: These results clearly indicate that the acetone extract of G. renghas could be served as potential larvicide, whereas M. fasciculiflora has better sub-lethal effect for oviposition deterrence and against Ae. albopictus as an oviciding agent.

Female ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism ; Infant ; Mothers ; Thyroid Diseases/diagnosis* ; Thyroid Function Tests

Objective We aimed to elucidate the prevalence and the antibiotic resistance spectrum of nasal coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) colonization among HIV infectors in Guangzhou. Method After isolation and identification, all CoNS isolates were tested for the antibiotic susceptibility, and the antibiotic resistance genes. Result Among the 1 001 HIV infectors, the prevalence of CoNS and MRCoNS were 57.44% and 48.15%, respectively. The three predominant resistant antibiotics of MRCoNS isolates were penicillin, erythromycin and trimethoprim-sulfame thoxazole, while predominant detection rates of genes were Aac(6’)-aph(2’)、ermC and linA genes. The multidrug resistance rate of MRCoNS isolates were significantly higher than methicillin-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci (MSCoNS) isolates (80.69% versus 39.66%, P<0.001, OR=6.36). Conclusions The prevalence and multidrug resistant rates of nasal colonization CoNS and MRCoNS are high among HIV infectors in Guangzhou. MRCoNS isolates were 6.36 times more likely to be of multidrug resistance than MSCoNS isolates.

Terpenoids are main bioactive components in Tripterygium wilfordii,but the contents of some terpenoids are relatively low. In order to provide scientific evidence for the regulation of terpenoids in T. wilfordii,this research explored the effect of GR24 on accumulations of four diterpenoids( triptolide,tripterifordin,triptophenolide,and triptinin B) in T. wilfordii suspension cells by biological technology and UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS. The results indicated that 100 μmol·L-1 GR24 inhibited the accumulations of triptolide,tripterifordin,triptophenolide,and triptinin B to different degrees. Compared with the control group,the contents of 4 diterpenoids( in the induced group) were down to 96.59%,63.80%,61.02% and 33.59% in 240 h,respectively. Among them,the accumulation of triptinin B iswas significantly inhibited. In addition,the key time point of inhibitory effect was 120 h after induction with GR24 in some diterpenoids. This is the first systematic study focusing on the effect of GR24 on the accumulations of diterpenoids in T. wilfordii suspension cells. The dynamic accumulation ruleregularity of four diterpenoids after induced by GR24 was summarized,which laid a foundation for further study on the chemical response mechanism of terpenoids to GR24.
Cells, Cultured ; Diterpenes ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Lactones ; pharmacology ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Terpenes ; Tripterygium ; chemistry