IRAK2, an IL1R/TLR Immune Mediator, Enhances Radiosensitivity via Modulating Caspase 8/3-Mediated Apoptosis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Predicting and overcoming radioresistance are crucial in radiation oncology, including in managing oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). First, we used RNA-sequence to compare expression profiles of parent OML1 and radioresistant OML1-R OSCC cells in order to select candidate genes responsible for radiation sensitivity. We identified IRAK2, a key immune mediator of the IL-1R/TLR signaling, as a potential target in investigating radiosensitivity. In four OSCC cell lines, we observed that intrinsically low IRAK2 expression demonstrated a radioresistant phenotype (i.e., OML1-R and SCC4), and vice versa (i.e., OML1 and SCC25). Next, we overexpressed IRAK2 in low IRAK2-expression OSCC cells and knocked it down in high IRAK2-expression cells to examine changes of irradiation response. After ionizing radiation (IR) exposure, IRAK2 overexpression enhanced the radiosensitivity of radioresistant cells and synergistically suppressed OSCC cell growth both in vitro and in vivo, and vice versa. We found that IRAK2 overexpression restored and enhanced radiosensitivity by enhancing IR-induced cell killing via caspase-8/3-dependent apoptosis. OSCC patients with high IRAK2 expression had better post-irradiation local control than those with low expression (i.e., 87.4% vs. 60.0% at five years, P = 0.055), showing that IRAK2 expression was associated with post-radiation recurrence. Multivariate analysis confirmed high IRAK2 expression as an independent predictor for local control (HR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.016 – 0.760; P = 0.025). In conclusion, IRAK2 enhances radiosensitivity, via modulating caspase 8/3-medicated apoptosis, potentially playing double roles as a predictive biomarker and a novel therapeutic target in OSCC

Evaluating the Effect of Ramadan Fasting on Muslim Patients with Diabetes in relation to Use of Medication and Lifestyle Patterns: A Prospective Study

Objectives. This study aimed to examine the effect of Ramadan fasting on HbA1c in Muslim patients with type 2 diabetes. The incidence of hypoglycemia and glycemic changes in relation to the adjustment of doses of antidiabetic agents, diet, and physical activity during Ramadan was also evaluated. Methods. This was a prospective study conducted in an outpatient endocrine clinic. A set of questionnaires was administered to Muslim patients with diabetes who fasted for ≥10 days. Those who were hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis or severe hypoglycemia a month prior to Ramadan or were given short-term corticosteroid therapy were excluded. The patients’ responses and clinical outcomes from the clinic database were collected before, during, and after Ramadan. Results. A total of 153 participants completed the study. The mean HbA1c improved from 8.9% before Ramadan to 8.6% during Ramadan (P<0.05). Although diet and physical activity did not contribute to changes in glycemia, a significant improvement in HbA1c was observed in patients who had adjustments made to their doses of antidiabetic agents during Ramadan (P<0.001). In addition, their rate of hypoglycemia was minimal. Conclusions. Ramadan fasting appeared to improve glycemic control, especially in those whose doses of antidiabetic agents were adjusted during Ramadan

Hazard-based risk grouping effectively stratifying breast cancer patients in post-irradiation long-term heart diseases: a population-based cohort study

BackgroundEven though advanced radiotherapy techniques provide a better protective effect on surrounding normal tissues, the late sequelae from radiation exposure to the heart are still considerable in breast cancer patients. The present population-based study explored the role of cox-regression-based hazard risk grouping and intended to stratify patients with post-irradiation long-term heart diseases.Materials and methodsThe present study investigated the Taiwan National Health Insurance (TNHI) database. From 2000 to 2017, we identified 158,798 breast cancer patients. Using a propensity score match of 1:1, we included 21,123 patients in each left and right breast irradiation cohort. Heart diseases, including heart failure (HF), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and other heart diseases (OHD), and anticancer agents, including epirubicin, doxorubicin, and trastuzumab, were included for analysis.ResultsPatients received left breast irradiation demonstrated increased risks on IHD (aHR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.06–1.26; p &lt; 0.01) and OHD (aHR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01–1.15; p &lt; 0.05), but not HF (aHR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.96–1.28; p = 0.14), when compared with patients received right breast irradiation. In patients who received left breast irradiation dose of &gt;6,040 cGy, subsequent epirubicin might have a trend to increase the risk of heart failure (aHR, 1.53; 95% CI, 0.98–2.39; p = 0.058), while doxorubicin (aHR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.26–1.32; p = 0.19) and trastuzumab (aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.33–2.62; p = 0.89) did not. Older age was the highest independent risk factor for post-irradiation long-term heart diseases.ConclusionGenerally, systemic anticancer agents are safe in conjunction with radiotherapy for managing post-operative breast cancer patients. Hazard-based risk grouping may help stratify breast cancer patients associated with post-irradiation long-term heart diseases. Notably, radiotherapy should be performed cautiously for elderly left breast cancer patients who received epirubicin. Limited irradiation dose to the heart should be critically considered. Regular monitoring of potential signs of heart failure may be conducted

A systematic scoping review of approaches to teaching and assessing empathy in medicine

10.1186/s12909-021-02697-6BMC Medical Education21129

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Differentiating factors that motivate Singaporeans to revisit online blog shops.

This study investigates the differentiating factors between online blog shops that influence the revisiting behavior of Singaporean consumers. From literature reviews, a total of 5 hypotheses are developed. Computerized self-administered questionnaires were sent out to gather data from respondents through invitational online sampling. A total of 137 useful responses were collected. After data analysis of the group’s findings, it is determined that the exclusivity of apparel showed no direct influence to consumers in revisiting blog shops. However other factors such as display types, word-of-mouth, electronic marketing efforts and consumers’ past experience with blog shops showed significant influence in the revisiting of blog shops. It is thus recommended that managers of blog shops adjust their marketing strategies in implementing these differentiating factors accordingly.BUSINES

Menopausal symptoms and risk of coronary heart disease in middle-aged women: A nationwide population-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE:To assess the relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD) and menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women in Taiwan. PATIENTS AND METHODS:The present study identified 14,340 symptomatic menopausal women without a history of CHD from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2013. A total of 14,340 age- and Charlson-comorbidity-index-score-matched asymptomatic women were used as controls. Possible comorbidity-attributable risks of CHD were surveyed to assess whether the symptomatic menopausal cohort had a higher incidence of CHD. RESULTS:The incidence of CHD was higher in the symptomatic menopausal cohort than in the control cohort (17.18 vs. 12.05 per 1000 person-years). After adjustment in multivariate Cox analysis, the risk of CHD was significantly higher in the symptomatic menopausal cohort (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.344, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.262-1.43, P < 0.001) than in the control cohort. In the symptomatic menopausal cohort, the risk of CHD was significantly higher in all subgroups, except for the hormone therapy (HT) subgroup. Patients undergoing HT had a nonsignificantly higher risk of CHD, regardless of the presence or absence of menopausal symptoms. CONCLUSION:This large-scale longitudinal retrospective cohort study revealed that menopausal symptoms are an independent risk factor for CHD. Moreover, our findings indicate that HT has a nonsignificant effect on the risk of CHD

Are you sure? a look at uncertainty and media exposure.

This study attempts to fill out the concept of need for orientation - a psychological motive for media expose and agenda-setting effects. Issue uncertainty and issue relevance as well as the personality trait of uncertainty orientation were incorporated to build a model predicting purposive to news and information.Bachelor of Communication Studie

Promotional programme for Healthway Medical Group

The pupose of this paper is to determine the reasons for the decline in Healthway Medical Group's (HMG) patient figures in the year 2002.Bachelor of Communication Studie

Sure anot : a campaign combating fake news on WhatsApp

This paper presents Sure Anot, the first public communication campaign in Singapore designed to educate 50-64 year olds in Singapore on combating the spread of fake news on WhatsApp. This social messaging application is the most used among our target audience, and has specific platform features that allow fake news messages to be forwarded easily. This campaign is initiated by four students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. Through a simple three-step Be Safe, Be Sure routine, older adults are empowered to fight the spread of fake news on WhatsApp. Within the span of three months, the campaign was covered by Singapore media, and was acknowledged at the national level by Minister for Communications and Information, Mr S Iswaran, in the Committee of Supply Debate 2020. Older adults exposed to our campaign showed an overall increase in: (i) knowledge on methods to fight fake news, (ii) perceived self-efficacy in fighting fake news on WhatsApp, and (iii) intention to adopt the Be Safe, Be Sure routine, as compared to non-exposed older adults. At the point of submission, Sure Anot has successfully collaborated with private hire company Grab and Black Dot Research, independent fact-checking organisation, to develop ways in which the campaign can be sustained beyond its academic deadline. Future directions, limitations and future recommendations are discussed in the paper. Relevant documents and data sets can be found in the appendices of this paper.Bachelor of Communication Studie