Building national identity through the secondary school literature component in Malaysia / Raphael Thoo Yi Xian, Foong Soon Seng, Khor Zyeh Lyn and Pong Kok Shiong

This study seeks to analyze the themes prevalent in the Form 1-3 literary texts since the reintroduction of the literature component into Malaysia’s secondary school curricula in 2000, up to the most recent Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) which is to be implemented in 2017. According to the National Education Blueprint (2013-2025), national identity is one of the six student aspirations. The incorporation of this theme would aid students to better understand their multiethnic culture and build their national identity (Kaur and Mahmor, 2014); this paper employed thematic analysis to further investigate the prevalence of the theme of nationhood in these texts. Findings show that only one text hinted the theme of nationhood out of 10. Other foreign texts contained a variety of themes other than that of nationhood. Past studies indicated that the literary texts should have a balance of local and foreign texts. Local works should be introduced first, especially in the lower secondary level (Ghazali, Setia, Muthusamy, and Jusoff, 2009; Isa and Mahmud, 2012; Kaur and Mahmor, 2014). However, the current literary texts in the KSSM do not correlate with the aspiration in the National Education Blueprint

Utilization and Short-term Outcomes of Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion in Patients With Cancer

Background Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has been rapidly evolving since FDA’s approval in 2015 and has become more of a same-day-discharge procedure. Cancer patient with atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF) population can benefit from the procedure but the in-hospital outcomes and readmission data were rarely studied. Objectives We investigated the utilization, in-hospital and readmission outcomes in cancer patients with AF who underwent LAAO. Methods Data were derived from the National Inpatient Sample and National Readmissions Database from 2016 to 2019. Patients with primary diagnosis of AF admitted for LAAO (ICD-10 code 02L73DK) were grouped by cancer as a secondary diagnosis. We assessed in-hospital mortality, length of stay, total hospital charges, and complications. Thirty-day readmission rates were compared. Results LAAO was performed in 60,380 patients with AF and 3% were cancer patients. There were no differences in in-hospital mortality and total hospital charges; however, cancer patients tended to have longer hospital stay (1.59 ± 0.11 vs. 1.32 ± 0.02, p = 0.013). Among complications, cancer patients had higher rates in open or percutaneous pericardial drainage (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.38; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19–4.76) and major bleeding events (aOR 7.07; 95% CI 1.82–27.38). There was no statistical significance of 30-day readmission rates between patients with and without cancer (10.0% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.34). The most common readmission reason in cancer patients was gastrointestinal bleeding. Conclusions LAAO is a promising procedure in cancer patients complicated by AF with contraindication to anticoagulation. Readmission rate is comparable between patients with and without cancer

Alginate Composition Effects on a Neural Stem Cell-Seeded Scaffold

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of alginate composition on the neurotrophic factor release, viability, and proliferation of encapsulated neural stem cells (NSCs), as well as on the mechanical stability of the scaffold itself. Four compositions were tested: a high guluronic acid (68%) and a high mannuronic acid (54%) content alginate, with or without a poly-L-lysine (PLL) coating layer. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to quantify the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, glial-derived neurotrophic factor, and nerve growth factor from the encapsulated cells. All three factors were detected from encapsulated cells only when a high L-guluronic acid alginate without PLL was used. Additionally, capsules with this composition remained intact more frequently when exposed to solutions of low osmolarity, potentially indicating superior mechanical stability. Alginate beads with a PLL-coated, high D-mannuronic acid composition were the most prone to breakage in the osmotic pressure test, and were too fragile for histology and proliferation assays after 1 week in vitro. NSCs survived and proliferated in the three remaining alginate compositions similarly over the 21-day study course irrespective of scaffold condition. NSC-seeded alginate beads with a high L-guluronic acid, non-PLL-coated composition may be useful in the repair of injured nervous tissue, where the mechanism is the secretion of neuroprotective factors. We verify the neuroprotective effects of medium conditioned by NSC-seeded alginate beads on the serum withdrawal-mediated death of PC-12 cells here.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78133/1/ten.tec.2008.0302.pd

Using cfRNA as a tool to evaluate clinical treatment outcomes in patients with metastatic lung cancers and other tumors

Aim: We report an exploratory analysis of cfRNA as a biomarker to monitor clinical responses in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), breast cancer, and colorectal cancer (CRC). An analysis of cfRNA as a method for measuring PD-L1 expression with comparison to clinical responses was also performed in the NSCLC cohort. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 127 patients with metastatic disease that were undergoing therapy, 52 with NSCLC, 50 with breast cancer, and 25 with CRC. cfRNA was purified from fractionated plasma, and following reverse transcription (RT), total cfRNA and gene expression of PD-L1were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) using beta-actin expression as a surrogate for relative amounts of cfDNA and cfRNA. For the concordance study of liquid biopsies and tissue biopsies, the isolated RNA was analyzed by RNAseq for the expressions of 13 genes. We had to close the study early due to a lack of follow-up during the Covid-19 pandemic. Results: We collected a total of 373 blood samples. Mean cfRNA PCR signals after RT were about 50-fold higher than those of cfDNA. cfRNA was detected in all patients, while cfDNA was detected in 88% of them. A high concordance was found for the expression levels of 13 genes between blood and solid tumor tissue. Changes in cfRNA levels followed over the course of treatments were associated with response to therapy, increasing in progressive disease (PD) and falling when a partial response (PR) occurred. The expression of PD-L1 over time in patients treated with immunotherapy decreased with PR but increased with PD. Pre-treatment levels of PD-L1 were predictive of response in patients treated with immunotherapy. Conclusion: Changes in cfRNA correlate with clinical response to the therapy. Total cfRNA may be useful in predicting clinical outcomes. PD-L1 gene expression may provide a biomarker to predict response to PD-L1 inhibition

Pro inflammatory stimuli enhance the immunosuppressive functions of adipose mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes

The predominant mechanism by which adipose mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) participate to tissue repair is through a paracrine activity and their communication with the inflammatory microenvironment is essential part of this process. This hypothesis has been strengthened by the recent discovery that stem cells release not only soluble factors but also extracellular vesicles, which elicit similar biological activity to the stem cells themselves. We demonstrated that the treatment with inflammatory cytokines increases the immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory potential of AMSCs-derived exosomes, which acquire the ability to shift macrophages from M1 to M2 phenotype by shuttling miRNA regulating macrophages polarization. This suggests that the immunomodulatory properties of AMSCs-derived exosomes may be not constitutive, but are instead induced by the inflammatory microenvironment

Characterization of the Proinflammatory Profile of Synovial Fluid-Derived Exosomes of Patients with Osteoarthritis

The purpose of this study is to characterize synovial fluid- (SF-) derived exosomes of patients with gonarthrosis comparing two methods of isolation and to investigate their immune regulatory properties. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been isolated from inflamed SF by polymer precipitation method and quantified by Exocet kit and by nanoparticle tracking analysis. Vesicles expressed all the specific exosomal markers by immunoblot and FACS. After isolation with Exoquick, a relevant contamination by immune complexes was detected, which required further magnetic bead-based purification to remove. SF-derived exosomes significantly stimulated the release of several inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and metalloproteinases by M1 macrophages but did not influence the expression of CD80 and CD86 costimulatory molecules. In conclusion, we characterized purified exosomes isolated from inflamed SF and demonstrate that purified exosomes are functionally active in their ability to stimulate the release of proinflammatory factors from M1 macrophages. Our data indicate that SF-derived exosomes from gonarthrosis patients play a role in disease progression

A novel fusion protein scaffold 18/12/TxM activates the IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18 receptors to induce human memory-like natural killer cells

Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic innate lymphoid cells that are emerging as a cellular immunotherapy for various malignancies. NK cells are particularly dependent on interleukin (IL)-15 for their survival, proliferation, and cytotoxic function. NK cells differentiate into memory-like cells with enhanced effector function after a brief activation with IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18. N-803 is an IL-15 superagonist composed of an IL-15 mutant (IL-15N72D) bound to the sushi domain of IL-15Rα fused to the Fc region of IgG1, which results in physiological trans-presentation of IL-15. Here, we describe the creation of a novel triple-cytokine fusion molecule, 18/12/TxM, using the N-803 scaffold fused to IL-18 via the IL-15N72D domain and linked to a heteromeric single-chain IL-12 p70 by the sushi domain of the IL-15Rα. This molecule displays trispecific cytokine activity through its binding and signaling through the individual cytokine receptors. Compared with activation with the individual cytokines, 18/12/TxM induces similar short-term activation and memory-like differentiation of NK cells on both the transcriptional and protein level and identica

New Cancer Immunotherapy Agents in Development: a report from an associated program of the 31

This report is a summary of \u27New Cancer Immunotherapy Agents in Development\u27 program, which took place in association with the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), on November 9, 2016 in National Harbor, Maryland. Presenters gave brief overviews of emerging clinical and pre-clinical immune-based agents and combinations, before participating in an extended panel discussion with multidisciplinary leaders, including members of the FDA, leading academic institutions and industrial drug developers, to consider topics relevant to the future of cancer immunotherapy