Validity and reliability of the malay versions of bloating severity (Bsq-m) and quality of life (blqol-m) questionnaires

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Abdominal bloating (AB) is a prevalent and bothersome symptom, but there are no specific measures for severity and quality of life (QoL) other than the Bloating Severity Questionnaire (BSQ) and Bloating Quality of Life (BLQoL). We aimed to translate the BSQ and BLQoL into the Malay language and to validate them using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approaches. The 12-item BSQ has two components, seven-item severity in general (SevGen) and five-item severity in the past 24 h (Sev24), and BLQOL has five items. Translation to the Malay language (BSQ-M and BLQoL-M) was performed using standard forward and backward processes. EFA followed by CFA were performed in participants with AB due to functional bowel disorders, with the purpose of examining the validity and reliability of the questionnaires translated into Malay. After EFA with 152 participants, all the items of BSQ-M remained in the model. Total variance extracted was 53.26% for BSQ-M and 58.79% for BLQoL-M. The internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha values was 0.52 for SevGen, 0.86 for Sev24, and 0.81 for BLQoL-M. After performing CFA with another 323 participants, the final measurement model for BSQ-M and BLQoL-M fit the data well in terms of several fit indices (BSQ-M: root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.050, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.966, Tucker–Lewis Fit Index (TLI) = 0.956, and standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) = 0.051; BLQoL-M: RMSEA = 0.071, CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.962, SRMR = 0.021). The composite reliability for BSQ-M and BLQoL-M were satisfactory (SevGen = 0.83, Sev24 = 0.89, BLQoL = 0.80). The intraclass correlation (ICC) results showed excellent stability for BSQ-M and BLQoL-M, ranging from 0.74 to 0.93. The Malay language versions of BSQ-M and BLQoL-M are valid and reliable instruments for measuring the severity and QoL of AB for the Asian population with functional bowel disorders.School of Medical Sciences, Education Incentive Fund (or TIPPS); Research University Individual Grant from Universiti Sains Malaysia (1001.PPSP.8012250)

Increased therapeutic potential of an experimental anti-mitotic inhibitor SB715992 by genistein in PC-3 human prostate cancer cell line

BACKGROUND: Kinesin spindle proteins (KSP) are motor proteins that play an essential role in mitotic spindle formation. HsEg5, a KSP, is responsible for the formation of the bipolar spindle, which is critical for proper cell division during mitosis. The function of HsEg5 provides a novel target for the manipulation of the cell cycle and the induction of apoptosis. SB715992, an experimental KSP inhibitor, has been shown to perturb bipolar spindle formation, thus making it an excellent candidate for anti-cancer agent. Our major objective was a) to investigate the cell growth inhibitory effects of SB715992 on PC-3 human prostate cancer cell line, b) to investigate whether the growth inhibitory effects of SB715992 could be enhanced when combined with genistein, a naturally occurring isoflavone and, c) to determine gene expression profile to establish molecular mechanism of action of SB715992. METHODS: PC-3 cells were treated with varying concentration of SB715992, 30 μM of genistein, and SB715992 plus 30 μM of genistein. After treatments, PC-3 cells were assayed for cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and alteration in gene and protein expression using cell inhibition assay, apoptosis assay, microarray analysis, real-time RT-PCR, and Western Blot analysis. RESULTS: SB715992 inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in PC-3 cells. SB715992 was found to regulate the expression of genes related to the control of cell proliferation, cell cycle, cell signaling pathways, and apoptosis. In addition, our results showed that combination treatment with SB715992 and genistein caused significantly greater cell growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis compared to the effects of either agent alone. CONCLUSION: Our results clearly show that SB715992 is a potent anti-tumor agent whose therapeutic effects could be enhanced by genistein. Hence, we believe that SB715992 could be a novel agent for the treatment of prostate cancer with greater success when combined with a non-toxic natural agent like genistein

Predation Risk Shapes Social Networks in Fission-Fusion Populations

Predation risk is often associated with group formation in prey, but recent advances in methods for analysing the social structure of animal societies make it possible to quantify the effects of risk on the complex dynamics of spatial and temporal organisation. In this paper we use social network analysis to investigate the impact of variation in predation risk on the social structure of guppy shoals and the frequency and duration of shoal splitting (fission) and merging (fusion) events. Our analyses revealed that variation in the level of predation risk was associated with divergent social dynamics, with fish in high-risk populations displaying a greater number of associations with overall greater strength and connectedness than those from low-risk sites. Temporal patterns of organisation also differed according to predation risk, with fission events more likely to occur over two short time periods (5 minutes and 20 minutes) in low-predation fish and over longer time scales (>1.5 hours) in high-predation fish. Our findings suggest that predation risk influences the fine-scale social structure of prey populations and that the temporal aspects of organisation play a key role in defining social systems

Liver Enzymes: Interaction Analysis of Smoking with Alcohol Consumption or BMI, Comparing AST and ALT to γ-GT

A detrimental interaction between smoking and alcohol consumption with respect serum γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) has recently been described. The underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The present work aimed to provide further insights by examining similar interactions pertaining to aspartate and alanine transaminase (AST, ALT), routine liver markers less prone to enzyme induction.<0.0001). The interactions all were in the same directions as for γ-GT, i.e. synergistic with alcohol and opposite with BMI.The patterns of interaction between smoking and alcohol consumption or BMI with respect to AST and ALT resembled those observed for γ-GT. This renders enzyme induction a less probable mechanism for these associations, whereas it might implicate exacerbated hepatocellular vulnerability and injury

Health-related quality of life in young adults with symptoms of constipation continuing from childhood into adulthood

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Children with functional constipation report impaired Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in relation to physical complaints and long duration of symptoms. In about one third of children with constipation, symptoms continue into adulthood. Knowledge on HRQoL in adults with constipation persisting from childhood is lacking.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>To assess HRQoL in adults with constipation from early childhood in comparison to that of their peers. Furthermore to gain insight into the specific social consequences related to continuing symptoms of constipation and/or fecal incontinence at adult age.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One HRQoL questionnaire and one self-developed questionnaire focusing on specific consequences of symptoms of constipation continuing into adulthood were administrated to 182 adults with a history of childhood constipation. Successful clinical outcome was defined as a defecation frequency three or more times per week with less than two episodes of fecal incontinence per month, irrespective of laxative use. HRQoL of both adults with unsuccessful and successful clinical outcome were compared to a control group of 361 peers from the general Dutch population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No differences in HRQoL were found between the whole study population and healthy peers, nor between adults with successful clinical outcome (n = 139) and the control group. Adults with an unsuccessful clinical outcome (n = 43) reported significantly lower HRQoL compared to the control group with respect to scores on bodily pain (mean ± SD 77.4 ± 19.6 versus 85.7 ± 19.5, p = 0.01) and general health (67.6 ± 18.8 versus 74.0 ± 18.1, p = 0.04). Adults with an unsuccessful clinical outcome reported difficulties with social contact and intimacy (20% and 12.5%, respectively), related to their current symptoms. Current therapy in these adults was more often self-administered treatment (e.g. diet modifications) (60.4%) than laxatives (20.9%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, young adults with constipation in childhood report a good quality of life, as HRQoL of adults with successful clinical outcome was comparable to that of their peers. However, when childhood constipation continues into adulthood, it influences HRQoL negatively with social consequences in 20% of these adults.</p

Self-Reported Serious Illnesses in Rural Cambodia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND: There is substantial evidence that ill-health is a major cause of impoverishment in developing countries. Major illnesses can have a serious economic impact on poor households through treatment costs and income loss. However, available methods for measuring the impact of ill-health on household welfare display several shortcomings and new methods are thus needed. To understand the potential complex impact of major illnesses on household livelihoods, a study on poverty and illness was conducted in rural Cambodia, as part of an international comparative research project. A cross-sectional survey was performed to identify households affected by major illness for further in-depth interviews. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 5,975 households in three rural health districts were randomly selected through a two-stage cluster sampling and interviewed. 27% of the households reported at least one member with a serious illness in the year preceding the survey and 15% of the household members reported suffering from at least one serious illness. The most reported conditions include common tropical infectious diseases, chronic diseases (notably hypertension and heart diseases) and road traffic accidents. Such conditions were particularly concentrated among the poor, children under five, women, and the elderly. Poor women often reported complications related to pregnancy and delivery as serious illnesses. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Despite some methodological limitations, this study provides new information on the frequency of self-reported serious illnesses among the rural Cambodia's population, which serves as a basis for further in-depth investigation on 'major illnesses' and their economic consequences on poor households. This can in turn help policy makers to formulate appropriate interventions to protect the poor from the financial burden associated with ill-health. Our findings suggest that every year a considerable proportion of rural population in Cambodia, especially the poor and vulnerable, are affected by serious illnesses, both communicable and non-communicable diseases

Aquatic therapy for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD): an external pilot randomised controlled trial

Background: Standard treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) includes regular physiotherapy. There are no data to show whether adding aquatic therapy (AT) to land-based exercises helps maintain motor function. We assessed the feasibility of recruiting and collecting data from boys with DMD in a parallel-group pilot randomised trial (primary objective), also assessing how intervention and trial procedures work. Methods: Ambulant boys with DMD aged 7–16 years established on steroids, with North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) score ≥8, who were able to complete a 10-m walk test without aids or assistance, were randomly allocated (1:1) to 6 months of either optimised land-based exercises 4 to 6 days/week, defined by local community physiotherapists, or the same 4 days/week plus AT 2 days/week. Those unable to commit to a programme, with >20% variation between NSAA scores 4 weeks apart, or contraindications to AT were excluded. The main outcome measures included feasibility of recruiting 40 participants in 6 months from six UK centres, clinical outcomes including NSAA, independent assessment of treatment optimisation, participant/therapist views on acceptability of intervention and research protocols, value of information (VoI) analysis and cost-impact analysis. Results: Over 6 months, 348 boys were screened: most lived too far from centres or were enrolled in other trials; 12 (30% of the targets) were randomised to AT (n = 8) or control (n = 4). The mean change in NSAA at 6 months was −5.5 (SD 7.8) in the control arm and −2.8 (SD 4.1) in the AT arm. Harms included fatigue in two boys, pain in one. Physiotherapists and parents valued AT but believed it should be delivered in community settings. Randomisation was unattractive to families, who had already decided that AT was useful and who often preferred to enrol in drug studies. The AT prescription was considered to be optimised for three boys, with other boys given programmes that were too extensive and insufficiently focused. Recruitment was insufficient for VoI analysis. Conclusions: Neither a UK-based RCT of AT nor a twice weekly AT therapy delivered at tertiary centres is feasible. Our study will help in the optimisation of AT service provision and the design of future research. Trial registration: ISRCTN4100295

Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for neutral Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were recorded in 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 to 4.8 fb-1. Higgs boson decays into oppositely-charged muon or τ lepton pairs are considered for final states requiring either the presence or absence of b-jets. No statistically significant excess over the expected background is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived. The exclusion limits are for the production cross-section of a generic neutral Higgs boson, φ, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for h/A/H production in the MSSM as a function of the parameters mA and tan β in the mhmax scenario for mA in the range of 90GeV to 500 GeV. Copyright CERN

Oxygenated-Blood Colour Change Thresholds for Perceived Facial Redness, Health, and Attractiveness

Blood oxygenation level is associated with cardiovascular fitness, and raising oxygenated blood colouration in human faces increases perceived health. The current study used a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) psychophysics design to quantify the oxygenated blood colour (redness) change threshold required to affect perception of facial colour, health and attractiveness. Detection thresholds for colour judgments were lower than those for health and attractiveness, which did not differ. The results suggest redness preferences do not reflect a sensory bias, rather preferences may be based on accurate indications of health status. Furthermore, results suggest perceived health and attractiveness may be perceptually equivalent when they are assessed based on facial redness. Appearance-based motivation for lifestyle change can be effective; thus future studies could assess the degree to which cardiovascular fitness increases face redness and could quantify changes in aerobic exercise needed to increase facial attractiveness

High source levels and small active space of high-pitched song in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus)

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Public Library of Science, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052072.The low-frequency, powerful vocalizations of blue and fin whales may potentially be detected by conspecifics across entire ocean basins. In contrast, humpback and bowhead whales produce equally powerful, but more complex broadband vocalizations composed of higher frequencies that suffer from higher attenuation. Here we evaluate the active space of high frequency song notes of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) in Western Greenland using measurements of song source levels and ambient noise. Four independent, GPS-synchronized hydrophones were deployed through holes in the ice to localize vocalizing bowhead whales, estimate source levels and measure ambient noise. The song had a mean apparent source level of 185±2 dB rms re 1 µPa @ 1 m and a high mean centroid frequency of 444±48 Hz. Using measured ambient noise levels in the area and Arctic sound spreading models, the estimated active space of these song notes is between 40 and 130 km, an order of magnitude smaller than the estimated active space of low frequency blue and fin whale songs produced at similar source levels and for similar noise conditions. We propose that bowhead whales spatially compensate for their smaller communication range through mating aggregations that co-evolved with broadband song to form a complex and dynamic acoustically mediated sexual display.This work was funded by the Oticon Foundation (grant # 08-3469 to Arctic Station, OT). OT and MC were additionally funded by AP Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal, MS by a PhD scholarship from the Oticon Foundation, FHJ by a Danish Council for Independent Research, Natural Sciences post-doctoral grant, SEP by a grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research, and PTM by frame grants from the Danish Natural Science Research Council