Fosmanogepix (APX001) Is Effective in the Treatment of Immunocompromised Mice Infected with Invasive Pulmonary Scedosporiosis or Disseminated Fusariosis.

There are limited treatment options for immunosuppressed patients with lethal invasive fungal infections due to Fusarium and Scedosporium Manogepix (MGX; APX001A) is a novel antifungal that targets the conserved Gwt1 enzyme required for localization of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored mannoproteins in fungi. We evaluated the in vitro activity of MGX and the efficacy of the prodrug fosmanogepix (APX001) in immunosuppressed murine models of hematogenously disseminated fusariosis and pulmonary scedosporiosis. The MGX minimum effective concentration (MEC) for Scedosporium isolates was 0.03 μg/ml and ranged from 0.015 to 0.03 μg/ml for Fusarium isolates. In the scedosporiosis model, treatment of mice with 78 mg/kg and 104 mg/kg of body weight fosmanogepix, along with 1-aminobenzotriazole (ABT) to enhance the serum half-life of MGX, significantly increased median survival time versus placebo from 7 days to 13 and 11 days, respectively. Furthermore, administration of 104 mg/kg fosmanogepix resulted in an ∼2-log10 reduction in lung, kidney, or brain conidial equivalents/gram tissue (CE). Similarly, in the fusariosis model, 78 mg/kg and 104 mg/kg fosmanogepix plus ABT enhanced median survival time from 7 days to 12 and 10 days, respectively. A 2- to 3-log10 reduction in kidney and brain CE was observed. In both models, reduction in tissue fungal burden was corroborated with histopathological data, with target organs showing reduced or no abscesses in fosmanogepix-treated mice. Survival and tissue clearance were comparable to a clinically relevant high dose of liposomal amphotericin B (10 to 15 mg/kg). Our data support the continued development of fosmanogepix as a first-in-class treatment for infections caused by these rare molds

Assessing the challenges of local leaders in rural community development: A qualitative study in Malaysia

In Malaysia, the ongoing reform at the local government level continues to shape the role of local leaders in rural development. This study aims to identify several challenges faced by rural community leaders and to suggest some ways in which rural leaders can weather and benefit from them. This qualitative study, which used content analysis, employed purposive sampling to firstly select the interviewee, and then was sustained throughout until data saturation. The respondents were from a 60-member cohort from Malaysia’s Villages Development and Safety Committee who held the positions of chairpersons and ordinary members. For data collection and analysis, this study used semi-structured interviews and an inductive approach respectively. The data analysis led to the development of eight main themes of “difficulty in decision making”, “strengthening external network”, “disseminating the precise information”, “Comprehensive participation of the community members”, “preparing an efficient work plan”, “overlapping functions of government agencies”, “political control”, and “the lack of facilities and infrastructure”. Identifying these challenges for rural community leaders will help the local government take proactive action on community leadership in terms of social capital, networking, communication, trust creation, and leadership qualities. Going forward, the government should place serious attention to developing the potential and skills of local leaders as a reward for their profound commitment to developing their community

Does a person-environment-fit promote the academic achievement of hearing-impaired students in Malaysian polytechnics? the mediating effects of satisfaction and adjustment

(1) This study investigates the influence of a person-environment-fit on academic achievement and examines mediating effects of adjustment and satisfaction on this relationship; (2) Methods: Data were collected from a sample of 195 hearing-impaired students from five polytechnics in Malaysia that offered the Special Skills Certificate program; (3) Results: Results revealed that the two constructs of the person-environment approach: personality-major fit and needs-supplies fit were positively associated with academic achievement. The adjustment was found to mediate this relationship. Taken together, these results signal that the person-environment constructs contribute to the academic achievement of hearing-impaired students and that adjustment is instrumental in elucidating this relationship; (4) Conclusions: The finding adds to the data, indicating that the person-environment-fit is a possible model of inclusion for hearing-impaired students and also provides initial data about the functioning of hearing-impaired students in Malaysian polytechnics

Smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior among university students: A moderated mediation model by fear of missing out, social comparison, and loneliness

IntroductionThis article examines mediators and moderators that may explain the link between smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior using a sample of 794 university students.MethodsA mediation model was tested to test the hypothesis that social comparison orientation and fear of missing out would mediate the link between smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior. Additionally, a moderated mediation model was leveraged to examine loneliness as a moderator within the hypothesized model. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS.Results and DiscussionThe findings show a significant positive relationship between smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior. The findings confirm the hypothesized associations and reveal that smartphone addiction is positively linked to phubbing behavior. The link, on the other hand, is partially and sequentially mediated by the fear of missing out and social comparison orientation. As a result, both mediators might be regarded as proximal variables of phubbing behavior. Moreover, the associations between both smart addiction and phubbing behaviors as well as social comparison orientation and phubbing behaviors are moderated by loneliness. These two effects were stronger for university students with high loneliness than for those with low loneliness. This study addresses a major gap in the clinical psychology literature through the attempt to explore the relationship between smartphone addiction and increased phubbing behavior among university students

A model of Information Systems Success for assessing the effectiveness of statistical learning tool on university students performance in statistics

The purpose of the study was to validate the DeLone and McLean Information systems (IS) success model to determine the effectiveness of statistical learning tool (SLT) in facilitating learning statistics among graduate students. In order to test the model, a quantitative method was employed such as distributing questionnaires. A total of 129 graduate students registered for statistics in social science course from selected faculties in Universiti Putra Malaysia were chosen based on stratified random sampling. In this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) which is a data analysis method was employed to provide the info of statistics performance through the analysis of direct and indirect effect. The results of the study demonstrated that service quality was the most influential variable in this model (followed by system quality), thus highlighting the importance of service quality for students’ performance in statistics; nevertheless, the findings did not support the mediation of an intention to use and users’ satisfaction. Implications of our findings will enable future researchers to continue studies on SLT on a broader basis of theoretical support

Clinical and histopathological responses to bee venom phonophoresis in treating venous and diabetic ulcers: a single-blind randomized controlled trial

IntroductionChronic venous and diabetic ulcers are hard to treat that cause patients long time of suffering as well as significant healthcare and financial costs.PurposeThe conducted study was to evaluate the efficacy of bee venom (BV) phonophoresis on the healing of chronic unhealed venous and/or diabetic foot ulcers Also, to compare the healing rate of diabetic and venous ulcers.MethodologyThe study included 100 patients (71 males and 29 females) with an age range of 40-60 years' old who had chronic unhealed venous leg ulcers of grade I, grade II, or diabetic foot ulcers with type II diabetes mellitus. They randomly assigned into four equal groups of 25: Group A (diabetic foot ulcer study group) and group C (venous ulcer study group) who both received conservative treatment of medical ulcer care and phonophoresis with BV gel, in addition to group B (diabetic foot ulcer control group) and group D (venous ulcer control group) who both received conservative treatment of medical ulcer care and received ultrasound sessions only without BV gel. Wound surface area (WSA) and ulcer volume measurement (UVM) were used to assess the ulcer healing pre-application (P0), post-6 weeks of treatment (P1), and after 12 weeks of treatment (P2). In addition to Ki-67 immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the cell proliferative in the granulation tissue of ulcers pre-application (P0) and after 12 weeks of treatment (P2) for all groups.ResultsThis research revealed a statistical significance improvement (p ≤ 0.0) in the WSA, and UVM with no significant difference between study groups after treatment. Regarding Ki-67 immunohistochemistry showed higher post treatment values in the venous ulcer group in comparison to the diabetic foot ulcer group.ConclusionBee venom (BV) provided by phonophoresis is effective adjuvant treatment in accelerating venous and diabetic foot ulcer healing with higher proliferative effect on venous ulcer.Clinical trial registrationwww.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT05285930

A systematic review of literature on sustaining decision-making in healthcare organizations amid imperfect information in the Big Data era

first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessSystematic Review A Systematic Review of Literature on Sustaining Decision-Making in Healthcare Organizations Amid Imperfect Information in the Big Data Era by Glory Urekwere Orlu 1ORCID,Rusli Bin Abdullah 1,2,*ORCID,Zeinab Zaremohzzabieh 2,Yusmadi Yah Jusoh 1ORCID,Shahla Asadi 3ORCID,Yousef A. M. Qasem 1ORCID,Rozi Nor Haizan Nor 1 andWan Mohd Haffiz bin Mohd Nasir 1 1 Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Institute for Social Science Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia 3 School of Computing & Engineering, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 2RH, UK * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15476; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115476 Received: 1 June 2023 / Revised: 12 July 2023 / Accepted: 13 July 2023 / Published: 31 October 2023 Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract The significance of big data analytics (BDA) has benefited the health sector by leveraging the potential insights and capabilities of big data in decision making. However, every implementation of BDA within the healthcare field faces difficulties due to incomplete or flawed information that necessitates attention and resolution. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to accomplish two main objectives. Firstly, it aims to synthesize the various elements that contribute to imperfect information in BDA and their impact on decision-making processes within the healthcare sector. This involves identifying and analyzing the factors that can result in imperfect information in BDA applications. Secondly, the review intends to create a taxonomy specifically focused on imperfect information within the context of BDA in the health sector. The study conducted a systematic review of the literature, specifically focusing on studies written in English and published up until February 2023. We also screened and retrieved the titles, abstracts, and potentially relevant studies to determine if they met the criteria for inclusion. As a result, they obtained a total of 58 primary studies. The findings displayed that the presence of uncertainty, imprecision, vagueness, incompleteness, and complexity factors in BDA significantly impacts the ability to sustain effective decision-making in the healthcare sector. Additionally, the study highlighted that the taxonomy for imperfect information in BDA provides healthcare managers with the means to utilize suitable strategies essential for successful implementation when dealing with incomplete information in big data. These findings have practical implications for BDA service providers, as they can leverage the findings to attract and promote the adoption of BDA within the healthcare sector

Metabolic Activation of Intrahepatic CD8+ T Cells and NKT Cells Causes Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Liver Cancer via Cross-Talk with Hepatocytes

SummaryHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fastest rising cancer in the United States and increasing in Europe, often occurs with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Mechanisms underlying NASH and NASH-induced HCC are largely unknown. We developed a mouse model recapitulating key features of human metabolic syndrome, NASH, and HCC by long-term feeding of a choline-deficient high-fat diet. This induced activated intrahepatic CD8+ T cells, NKT cells, and inflammatory cytokines, similar to NASH patients. CD8+ T cells and NKT cells but not myeloid cells promote NASH and HCC through interactions with hepatocytes. NKT cells primarily cause steatosis via secreted LIGHT, while CD8+ and NKT cells cooperatively induce liver damage. Hepatocellular LTβR and canonical NF-κB signaling facilitate NASH-to-HCC transition, demonstrating that distinct molecular mechanisms determine NASH and HCC development

Psychological distress during pandemic Covid-19 among adult general population: Result across 13 countries

The COVID-19 pandemics caused an unprecedented mortality, distress, and globally poses a challenge to mental resilience. To our knowledge, this is the first study that aimed to investigate the psychological distress among the adult general population across 13 countries. This cross-sectional study was conducted through online survey by recruiting 7091 respondents. Psychological distress was evaluated with COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). The crude prevalence of psychological distress due to COVID-19 is highest in Vietnam, followed by Egypt, and Bangladesh. Through Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis, the respondents from Vietnam holds the highest level of distress, while the respondents from Sri Lanka holds the lowest level of distress with reference to Nepal.Female respondents had higher odds of having reported psychological distress, and those with tertiary education were less likely to report psychological distress compared to those with lower level of education. The findings indicate that psychological distress is varies across different countries. Therefore, different countries should continue the surveillance on psychological consequences through the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor the burden and to prepare for the targeted mental health support interventions according to the need. The coping strategies and social support should be provided especially to the lower educational attainment group