E.X.P.E.R.T. role play technique for workplace readiness

Role plays and the instructional methods which take place in traditional classroom context do not hinder learners from actively and meaningfully engaging the role of an expert naturally and realistically. The majority of the employers indicated that most fresh graduates are not ready to enter the job market as they lack the command of the English language, as well as communication skills and other workplace related skills. This paper presents how “E.X.P.E.R.T” role play technique is used in an academic English course classroom to address the concerns of workplace readiness among the fresh graduates. The researchers employed an in depth qualitative study through written reflections to capture the experiences, and insights of undergraduates at one of the Malaysian public universities. A total of nineteen learners from the Faculty of Health Sciences took part in this study. The findings indicate that E.X.P.E.R.T. technique promotes a more dynamic and up-to- date learning approach in equipping learners with the essential employability skills. It also highlights the teacher’s pedagogical role in employing the “E.X.P.E.R.T” role play technique

Vulnerability towards Online Sexual Grooming among Malaysian Children

This study was conducted to examine the vulnerability of Malaysian children towards online sexual grooming by ascertaining the level of vulnerability and the relationships with social media profiles and demographical factors. To achieve the objectives of this study, a quantitative method using a cross-sectional research design with the aid of electronic questionnaire via Google Form was used to gather the data. A total of 205 Malaysian children from the age of 10 to 17 years old participated in this study with their parents’ consent. Based on the analyses of the items, it was found that each child was vulnerable towards sexual grooming at different levels. This study also found that the frequency of social media usage was directly correlated with online sexual grooming vulnerability (r = 0.14, p = 0.05) and age of the respondents (r = 0.20, p = 0.006). Children with more social media accounts were also found to be more vulnerable towards online sexual grooming compared to those with lower number of social media accounts (F (2, 191) = 7.30, p = 0.001). Findings also revealed that there was no significant difference on online sexual grooming vulnerability in terms of gender (t (191) = -0.39, p = 0.149). As a conclusion, this study provide in-depth exposure related to online sexual grooming vulnerability to public as well as the urgent need for proactive prevention efforts to curb child sexual related offenses

Kerentanan kanak-kanak Malaysia terhadap pengantunan seksual dalam talian

This study was conducted to examine the vulnerability of Malaysian children towards online sexual grooming by ascertaining the level of vulnerability and the relationships with social media profiles and demographical factors. To achieve the objectives of this study, a quantitative method using a cross-sectional research design with the aid of electronic questionnaire via Google Form was used to gather the data. A total of 205 Malaysian children from the age of 10 to 17 years old participated in this study with their parents’ consent. Based on the analyses of the items, it was found that each child was vulnerable towards sexual grooming at different levels. This study also found that the frequency of social media usage was directly correlated with online sexual grooming vulnerability (r = 0.14, p = 0.05) and age of the respondents (r = 0.20, p = 0.006). Children with more social media accounts were also found to be more vulnerable towards online sexual grooming compared to those with lower number of social media accounts (F (2, 191) = 7.30, p = 0.001). Findings also revealed that there was no significant difference on online sexual grooming vulnerability in terms of gender (t (191) = -0.39, p = 0.149). As a conclusion, this study provide in-depth exposure related to online sexual grooming vulnerability to public as well as the urgent need for proactive prevention efforts to curb child sexual related offenses

Assessment of P-gp and MRP1 activities using MultiDrugQuant Assay Kit : a preliminary study of correlation between protein expressions and its functional activities in newly diagnosed acute leukaemia patients.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is believed to be responsible for poor response of patients towards chemotherapy particularly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The best-characterized resistance mechanism is the one mediated by permeability-glycoprotein (P-gp) encoded by MDR1 gene, which is responsible for drug efflux. We studied P-gp and multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) expression and functional activities in 43 newly diagnosed acute leukemia cases (19 paediatric ALL cases and 24 adult AML cases). The expression and functional activities were examined using flow cytometry and MultiDrugQuant assay kit (involving calcein AM uptake and efflux). P-gp and MRP1 expression and its functional activities were observed in 68.4% of paediatric ALL. In adult AML cases, all cases expressed MRP1 and its functional activities but only 58.3% were positive for P-gp and its functional activities. We were able to show a significant correlation between the expression of the multidrug resistant protein (P-gp and MRP1) and their functional activity in adult AML and paediatric ALL samples

Mutations in KIF27, GNAS and IFT140 genes in a patient with VACTERL association: a case report

VACTERL association is a rare genetic disorder involving at least three of the following congenital malformations: vertebral defects (V), anal atresia (A), cardiac defects (C), trachea-oesophageal fistula with or without oesophageal atresia (TE), renal anomalies (R) and limb abnormalities (L). Until now, the aetiology of VACTERL association is unknown, particularly at the molecular level. Here, we performed whole exome sequencing (WES) of an infant with VACTERL association. The patient was delivered prematurely at 30 weeks and had 4/6 of the VACTERL malformations. Trio-WES analysis was performed using Torrent Suite and ANNOVAR. Polymorphisms with an allele frequency of >0.01 were excluded, and the remaining variants were filtered based on de novo mutations, autosomal recessive, X-linked and di-genic inheritance traits. In this patient, no homozygous, compound heterozygous or X-linked mutations was associated with VACTERL. However, we identified two heterozygous mutations; KIF27 (ENST00000297814: c.3004A> C:p.N1002H) and GNAS (ENST00000371098: c.205C>A:p.H69N) genes that were inherited from her father and mother respectively. A de novo, IFT140 gene mutation (ENST00000426508: c.683C>G:p.S228C) was also identified in this patient. The VACTERL phenotype in this patient may due to heterozygous mutations affecting KIF27 and GNAS genes, inherited via autosomal recessive trait. In addition, the IFT140 gene mutation may also be involved. These genes are known to be directly or non-directly involved in the sonic hedgehog signalling that is known to be implicated in VACTERL. This is the first report of these genetic mutations in association with VACTERL

Preliminary study shows novel variant detected in the screening of RET gene in Malaysian patients with Hirschsprung’s disease

Hirschsprung’s disease (HSCR) is a disorder associated with congenital absence of ganglion cells in the gastrointestinal tract. Molecular analyses have identified variants in various genes including RET, GDNF, EDN3 and EDNRB that are involved in the development, migration and survival of neural cells. Variants in the receptor tyrosine kinase (RET) are most common and have been identified in 10-20% of sporadic HSCR patients. The objective of this study was to screen for RET gene variants in Malaysian patients with HSCR. Thirty-two patients with HSCR and 30 normal controls were recruited for this study. Mutations were screened using the Polymerase Chain Reaction – Denaturing High Performance Liquid Chromatography (PCR-dHPLC) approach. Mutations identified were then confirmed using Sanger sequencing. We identified one novel rare variant in exon 4 (A268A c807 G>C) in one patient. We also identified the common coding sequence variantsA45A (c135G>A), A432A (c1296A>G), L769L (c2307 T>G) and the G691S in our cohort of patients. In conclusion, our Malaysian patients with HSCR diseases showed the presence of similar RET gene common variants which have been described in other populations. We have also identified a novel variant in exon 4 (A268A)

The first Malay database toward the ethnic-specific target molecular variation

BACKGROUND:The Malaysian Node of the Human Variome Project (MyHVP) is one of the eighteen official Human Variome Project (HVP) country-specific nodes. Since its inception in 9(th) October 2010, MyHVP has attracted the significant number of Malaysian clinicians and researchers to participate and contribute their data to this project. MyHVP also act as the center of coordination for genotypic and phenotypic variation studies of the Malaysian population. A specialized database was developed to store and manage the data based on genetic variations which also associated with health and disease of Malaysian ethnic groups. This ethnic-specific database is called the Malaysian Node of the Human Variome Project database (MyHVPDb). FINDINGS:Currently, MyHVPDb provides only information about the genetic variations and mutations found in the Malays. In the near future, it will expand for the other Malaysian ethnics as well. The data sets are specified based on diseases or genetic mutation types which have three main subcategories: Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), Copy Number Variation (CNV) followed by the mutations which code for the common diseases among Malaysians. MyHVPDb has been open to the local researchers, academicians and students through the registration at the portal of MyHVP ( http://hvpmalaysia.kk.usm.my/mhgvc/index.php?id=register ). CONCLUSIONS:This database would be useful for clinicians and researchers who are interested in doing a study on genomics population and genetic diseases in order to obtain up-to-date and accurate information regarding the population-specific variations and also useful for those in countries with similar ethnic background

Targeted gene sanger sequencing should remain the first-tier genetic test for children suspected to have the five common X-linked inborn errors of immunity

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.To address inborn errors of immunity (IEI) which were underdiagnosed in resource-limited regions, our centre developed and offered free genetic testing for the most common IEI by Sanger sequencing (SS) since 2001. With the establishment of The Asian Primary Immunodeficiency (APID) Network in 2009, the awareness and definitive diagnosis of IEI were further improved with collaboration among centres caring for IEI patients from East and Southeast Asia. We also started to use whole exome sequencing (WES) for undiagnosed cases and further extended our collaboration with centres from South Asia and Africa. With the increased use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), we have shifted our diagnostic practice from SS to WES. However, SS was still one of the key diagnostic tools for IEI for the past two decades. Our centre has performed 2,024 IEI SS genetic tests, with in-house protocol designed specifically for 84 genes, in 1,376 patients with 744 identified to have disease-causing mutations (54.1%). The high diagnostic rate after just one round of targeted gene SS for each of the 5 common IEI (X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) 77.4%, Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) 69.2%, X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XCGD) 59.5%, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID) 51.1%, and X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGM1) 58.1%) demonstrated targeted gene SS should remain the first-tier genetic test for the 5 common X-linked IEI.The Hong Kong Society for Relief of Disabled Children and Jeffrey Modell Foundation.http://www.frontiersin.org/Immunologyam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030