Molecular Signatures of gastric cancer: An integrated approach to molecular cytogenetics, whole genome copy number and transcriptome profiles

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Cryopreservation of Neurospheres Derived from Human Glioblastoma Multiforme

Cancer stem cells have been shown to initiate and sustain tumor growth. In many instances, clinical material is limited, compounded by a lack of methods to preserve such cells at convenient time points. Although brain tumor-initiating cells grown in a spheroid manner have been shown to maintain their integrity through serial transplantation in immune-compromised animals, practically, it is not always possible to have access to animals of suitable ages to continuously maintain these cells. We therefore explored vitrification as a cryopreservation technique for brain tumor-initiating cells. Tumor neurospheres were derived from five patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Cryopreservation in 90% serum and 10% dimethyl sulfoxide yielded greatest viability and could be explored in future studies. Vitrification yielded cells that maintained self-renewal and multipotentiality properties. Karyotypic analyses confirmed the presence of GBM hallmarks. Upon implantation into NOD/SCID mice, our vitrified cells reformed glioma masses that could be serially transplanted. Transcriptome analysis showed that the vitrified and nonvitrified samples in either the stem-like or differentiated states clustered together, providing evidence that vitrification does not change the genotype of frozen cells. Upon induction of differentiation, the transcriptomes of vitrified cells associated with the original primary tumors, indicating that tumor stem-like cells are a genetically distinct population from the differentiated mass, underscoring the importance of working with the relevant tumor-initiating population. Our results demonstrate that vitrification of brain tumor-initiating cells preserves the biological phenotype and genetic profiles of the cells. This should facilitate the establishment of a repository of tumor-initiating cells for subsequent experimental designs

Dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation for paediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Aim To evaluate communication issues during dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DACPR) for paediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a structured manner to facilitate recommendations for training improvement. Methods A retrospective observational study evaluated DACPR communication issues using the SACCIA ® Safe Communication typology (Sufficiency, Accuracy, Clarity, Contextualization, Interpersonal Adaptation). Telephone recordings of 31 cases were transcribed verbatim and analysed with respect to encoding, decoding and transactional communication issues. Results Sixty SACCIA communication issues were observed in the 31 cases, averaging 1.9 issues per case. A majority of the issues were related to sufficiency (35%) and accuracy (35%) of communication between dispatcher and caller. Situation specific guideline application was observed in CPR practice, (co)counting and methods of compressions. Conclusion This structured evaluation identified specific issues in paediatric DACPR communication. Our training recommendations focus on situation and language specific guideline application and moving beyond verbal communication by utilizing the smart phone’s functions. Prospective efforts are necessary to follow-up its translation into better paediatric DACPR outcomes

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) : ITS AWARENESS AND INTEGRATION WITH PLANNING FOR FORMAL IMPLEMENTATION

Bachelor'sBACHELOR OF SCIENCE (ESTATE MANAGEMENT

Task shifting in primary care to tackle healthcare worker shortages:An umbrella review

Background Task shifting is an approach to help address the shortage of healthcare workers through reallocating human resources but its impact on primary care is unclear. Objectives To provide an overview of reviews describing task shifts from physicians to allied healthcare workers in primary care and its impact on clinical outcomes. Methods Six electronic databases were searched up to 15 December 2020, to identify reviews describing task shifting in primary care. Two reviewers independently screened the references for relevant studies, extracted the data and assessed the methodological quality of included reviews using AMSTAR-2. Results Twenty-one reviews that described task shifting in primary care were included. Task shifted include provision of care for people with chronic conditions, medication prescribing, and health education. We found that task shifting could potentially improve several health outcomes such as blood pressure, HbA1c, and mental health while achieving cost savings. Key elements for successful implementation of task shifting include collaboration among all parties, a system for coordinated care, provider empowerment, patient preference, shared decision making, training and competency, supportive organisation system, clear process outcome, and financing. Conclusion Evidence suggests that allied healthcare workers such as pharmacists and nurses can potentially undertake substantially expanded roles to support physicians in primary care in response to the changing health service demand. Tasks include providing care to patients, independent prescribing, counselling and education, with comparable quality of care

Judical management in practice : case studies

Judicial management was introduced on 17 May 1988 as an alternative to existing insolvency procedures. As a form of corporate rescue, judicial management was conceptualised to remedy the inadequacies of insolvency procedures such as liquidation and receivership. Through the imposition of a mandatory moratorium on creditors' rights, an otherwise healthy and viable company is allowed a brief respite to sort out its temporary financial difficulties.ACCOUNTANC

Computer crimes and internal auditor

In recent years, computer crimes are posing a growing and major threat to organisations around the world. This is due mainly to the fact that organisations are relying more on technology and people are also becoming more computer literate. In order to deter people from directly or indirectly committing computer or computer related crimes, the Computer Misuse Act (Chapter 50A) was enacted on 30 August 1993. Information security is needed to preserve the continuity, integrity and confidentiality of information resources. Thus, to secure such resources, organisations need preventive, detective and corrective controls. As organisations get bigger, the presence of internal auditor can assist in ensuring the adequacy and effectiveness of the accounting and internal control systems. An internal auditor should not be viewed as distinct from the controls. In fact, internal auditing is most effective when viewed as part of the internal control system. The growth of computerisation also means that internal auditor must Iearn to cope with the audit of computerised systems. As microcomputer operating systems become more user-friendly, audit software applications are also increasingly easy to use. These developments have made it possible to provide internal auditor with hardware and software necessary to carry out most audits without the services oftechnical specialists Three case studies analysis of local crimes provided the scenarios of how the Computers Misuse Act (Chapter 50A) is contravened and how the weaknesses in the internal controls led to the crimes committed. Moreover, there are more than a dozen types of computer fraud techniques and the knowledge of these will enable organisations to better protect themselves against the threat of various computer crimes. The findings of the case studies revealed that both opportunity and intention must be present in order to commit crimes. The fraud techniques are and will become more sophisticated as more people become computer literate. Also the major weakness in internal controls is a result of the loose reinforcement of the requirements of user identification and authentication control system. It is thus strongly recommended that besides improving the user identification and authentication control system, the internal auditor should also take an active role in the organisations’ internal control system. The opportunity for committing computer crimes can be significantly reduced by active participation of the internal auditor in internal control. The internal auditor needs the power and support to contribute effectively to the organisations.ACCOUNTANC

Prevalence of human endogenous retroviral element associates with Hodgkin's lymphoma incidence rates

Human endogenous retrovirus-H (HERV-H) is implicated in leukaemias and lymphomas, but the precise molecular mechanism underlying HERV-mediated carcinogenesis remains unknown. We determined the prevalence of HERV-H in a cross-section of the Singapore population and explored the relationship between HERV-H positivity and incidence rates for Hodgkin's lymphoma in three major ethnic groups of Singapore. We observed that Malays were 1.11 times likely (95% CI=1.05–1.17; P<0.01), and Indians 1.12 times likely (95% CI=1.07–1.18; P<0.01) to be HERV-H positive when compared to Chinese. Interestingly, the incidence rates of Hodgkin's lymphoma for the three races positively correlated to the respective prevalence rate for HERV-H positivity (r=0.9921 for male; r=0.9801 for female), suggesting that viral inheritance in human may predispose certain racial origin unfavourably to malignancy

Synthesis and mesomorphic evaluation of new calamitic liquid crystals containing benzothiazole core

The design and synthesis of new calamitic benzothiazole-based liquid crystals, 2-[4-(4-alkyloxybenzoyloxy)-phenyl]benzothiazoles are presented. The target compound was characterized using spectroscopic techniques, such as FT-IR, NMR (1H and 13C), microanalysis and EI-MS. The liquid crystalline behaviours of these compounds were thoroughly examined by differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing optical microscope techniques. These materials exhibited enantiotropic nematic phase with high thermal stability (>168 °C). Smectic A phase starts to emerge as monotropic (metastable) phase from C10 member and changes into enantiotropic (stable) phase from C12 and persists up to C16 members