Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has developed as the dominant paradigm of assessment of evidence that is used in clinical practice. Since its development, EBM has been applied to integrate the best available research into diagnosis and... more
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has developed as the dominant paradigm of assessment of evidence that is used in clinical practice. Since its development, EBM has been applied to integrate the best available research into diagnosis and treatment with the purpose of improving patient care. In the EBM era, a hierarchy of evidence has been proposed, including various types of research methods, such as meta-analysis (MA), systematic review (SRV), randomized controlled trial (RCT), case report (CR), practice guideline (PGL), and so on. Although there are numerous studies examining the impact and importance of specific cases of EBM in clinical practice, there is a lack of research quantitatively measuring publication trends in the growth and development of EBM. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis was constructed to determine the scientific productivity of EBM research over decades. NCBI PubMed database was used to search, retrieve and classify publications according to research method and ye...
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Early somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) components to median nerve stimulation were recorded with non-cephalic reference from scalp, neck and oesophagus in normal young adults. The nerve volley was recorded from the arm and Erb's... more
Early somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) components to median nerve stimulation were recorded with non-cephalic reference from scalp, neck and oesophagus in normal young adults. The nerve volley was recorded from the arm and Erb's point. The latencies of the stationary P9 far field were increased significantly by supporting the shoulder in a high position. This manoeuvre was shown in X-rays to change the axis of the nerve at levels between lateral and middle parts of the clavicle. This suggests that the far field is not related to inhomogeneities of the medium surrounding the nerve whereby abrupt changes in extracellular current flow might be produced as the volley arrives at a certain level. Rather, the axial orientation of the propagated dipole appears as a major factor determining the features of the stationary P9 far field. The reversible effect described does not significantly influence the conduction of the volley itself nor the latencies of the subsequent SEP components.
Research Interests: Electroencephalography, Brain, Humans, Shoulder, Female, and 5 moreMale, Reaction Time, Posture, Adult, and Median Nerve
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Two recent studies have demonstrated that clotrimazole, a well-known potential antifungal agent, inhibits the in vitro growth of chloroquine-resistant strains of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. In a previous study, we... more
Two recent studies have demonstrated that clotrimazole, a well-known potential antifungal agent, inhibits the in vitro growth of chloroquine-resistant strains of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. In a previous study, we suggested that clotrimazole acts as an anti-malarial agent by inhibiting heme catabolism in the malaria parasite and by enhancing heme-induced membrane damage. In this paper, we examined the mechanism of action by measuring hemolysis as an indicator of membrane damage. Our results showed that clotrimazole does not promote the binding of heme to membranes, and that the enhancement of heme-induced hemolysis by clotrimazole is not caused by lipid peroxidation or by oxidation of thiol groups in membrane proteins. Instead, clotrimazole inhibits glutathione-dependent heme degradation, resulting in an enhancement of heme-induced hemolysis. We also found that clotrimazole increases the susceptibility of erythrocytes to hypotonic lysis in the presence of heme and t...
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Current assays for screening new antimalarials need initiators of beta-hematin formation that require laborious preparation, special devices, and substrates. In this study, based on reduction of heme absorption in beta-hematin formation,... more
Current assays for screening new antimalarials need initiators of beta-hematin formation that require laborious preparation, special devices, and substrates. In this study, based on reduction of heme absorption in beta-hematin formation, we developed a simple colorimetric assay using Tween 20 as an initiator and a microplate reader for high-throughput screening of inhibitors of beta-hematin formation.
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To estimate the proportion of participants in clinical trials who understand different components of informed consent. Relevant studies were identified by a systematic review of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar and by manually reviewing... more
To estimate the proportion of participants in clinical trials who understand different components of informed consent. Relevant studies were identified by a systematic review of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar and by manually reviewing reference lists for publications up to October 2013. A meta-analysis of study results was performed using a random-effects model to take account of heterogeneity. The analysis included 103 studies evaluating 135 cohorts of participants. The pooled proportion of participants who understood components of informed consent was 75.8% for freedom to withdraw at any time, 74.7% for the nature of study, 74.7% for the voluntary nature of participation, 74.0% for potential benefits, 69.6% for the study's purpose, 67.0% for potential risks and side-effects, 66.2% for confidentiality, 64.1% for the availability of alternative treatment if withdrawn, 62.9% for knowing that treatments were being compared, 53.3% for placebo and 52.1% for randomization. Most participants, 62.4%, had no therapeutic misconceptions and 54.9% could name at least one risk. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses identified covariates, such as age, educational level, critical illness, the study phase and location, that significantly affected understanding and indicated that the proportion of participants who understood informed consent had not increased over 30 years. The proportion of participants in clinical trials who understood different components of informed consent varied from 52.1% to 75.8%. Investigators could do more to help participants achieve a complete understanding.
Dengue virus infection is a leading cause of morbidity among children in the Philippines in recent years. In order to investigate the association of HLA Class I and II alleles and dengue disease severity in a cohort of Filipino children,... more
Dengue virus infection is a leading cause of morbidity among children in the Philippines in recent years. In order to investigate the association of HLA Class I and II alleles and dengue disease severity in a cohort of Filipino children, we performed a case control study in 2 hospitals in Metro Manila from June 2008 to December 2009. A total of 250 laboratory confirmed dengue patients and 300 healthy individuals aged 5 to 15 years old were typed for HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles. The frequency of HLA-A*33:01 was significantly decreased in severe dengue (DHF/ DSS; Pc = 0.0016)) and DSS (Pc = 0.0032) compared to the background population. These findings support a previous study that this allele may confer protection against the severe form of dengue and provide the first evidence of HLA association with dengue in the Philippines. Future studies should be directed in investigating the possible mechanisms of protection.
Research Interests: Philippines, Adolescent, Multidisciplinary, Humans, Child, and 4 moreFemale, Male, Dengue, and PLoS one
Early somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to median or ulnar nerve stimulation were recorded with non-cephalic reference from neck, oesophagus and scalp in normal young adults. Transit times and durations were estimated for different... more
Early somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to median or ulnar nerve stimulation were recorded with non-cephalic reference from neck, oesophagus and scalp in normal young adults. Transit times and durations were estimated for different components. SEP fields were mapped with up to 24 skin electrodes around the neck or along the midline neck and scalp, and projected onto a 2-dimensional plane for bit-mapped colour imaging. The posterior neck N11 is a near-field potential propagated caudorostrally in the dorsal column, associated with a positive P11 far field beyond termination of the cuneate bundle. A true phase reversal of the posterior neck N13 into an anterior neck P13 is substantiated, identifying a segmental generator with horizontal axis in dorsal horn. The N13-P13 represents postsynaptic excitatory potentials in interneurones of layers IV-V of the dorsal horn. It is not reflected in any scalp far field. The duration and onset latency of N13-P13 are in line with this interpretation. A new montage of posterior-to-anterior neck can enhance this component without introducing extraneous potentials. The P14 far field does not extend below the inion and presents distinct features. Neck-to-front scalp montages confound the SEP components generated in the spinal cord and above the foramen magnum respectively, but may serve to estimate N11 onset latency.
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Schistosomiasis is still a major public health burden in the tropics and subtropics. Although there is an effective chemotherapy (Praziquantel) for this disease, reinfection occurs rapidly after mass drug administration (MDA). Because the... more
Schistosomiasis is still a major public health burden in the tropics and subtropics. Although there is an effective chemotherapy (Praziquantel) for this disease, reinfection occurs rapidly after mass drug administration (MDA). Because the entire population do not get reinfected at the same rate, it is possible that host factors may play a dominant role in determining resistance or susceptibility to reinfection with schistosomes. Here, we systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed studies that reported associations between reinfection with the principal human-infecting species (S. mansoni, S. japonicum and S. haematobium) and host socio-demographic, epidemiological, immunological and genetic factors. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Cochrane Review Library and African Journals Online public databases were searched in October 2013 to retrieve studies assessing association of host factors with reinfection with schistosomes. Meta-analysis was performed to generate pooled odds ratios and s...
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There is still urgent need for a vaccine against schistosomiasis, especially in Schistosoma japonicum endemic areas where even a vaccine that will interrupt zoonotic transmission will be potentially effective as an intervention tool. We... more
There is still urgent need for a vaccine against schistosomiasis, especially in Schistosoma japonicum endemic areas where even a vaccine that will interrupt zoonotic transmission will be potentially effective as an intervention tool. We had developed a novel nanoparticle gene delivery system, which has proven efficacious in gene transfection to target immune cells with complementary adjuvant effect and high protective efficacy in several diseases. Here, we applied this nanoparticle system in combination with S. japonicum glutathione S-transferase (SjGST) DNA vaccine to show the immunogenicity and anti-fecundity effect of the nanoparticle coated vaccine formulation against murine schistosomiasis. The nanoparticle-coated DNA vaccine formulation induced desired immune responses. In comparison with the nanoparticle coated empty vector, it produced significantly increased antigen-specific humoral response, T-helper 1 polarized cytokine environment, higher proportion of IFN-γ producing CD...
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... 289, Williamstown, USA, 2001 [13] Anh-Cuong Le, Phuong-Thai Nguyen, Hoai-Thu Vuong, Minh-Thu Pham, Tu-Bao Ho ... a large annotated corpus of English: the Penn Treebank, Computational Linguistics, 1993 [17] Phuong-Thai Nguyen,... more
... 289, Williamstown, USA, 2001 [13] Anh-Cuong Le, Phuong-Thai Nguyen, Hoai-Thu Vuong, Minh-Thu Pham, Tu-Bao Ho ... a large annotated corpus of English: the Penn Treebank, Computational Linguistics, 1993 [17] Phuong-Thai Nguyen, Xuan-Luong Vu, Minh-Huyen Nguyen ...
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A thin adhesion layer is required to glue Pt bottom electrodes of ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films to a SiO2/Si wafer. Here we report the effect of adhesion layers, Ti and TiO2, on the crystalline structure and surface properties of... more
A thin adhesion layer is required to glue Pt bottom electrodes of ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films to a SiO2/Si wafer. Here we report the effect of adhesion layers, Ti and TiO2, on the crystalline structure and surface properties of Pt electrode. The results show that the hillock formation is observed for the case of Ti glue layer, while the surface
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Research Interests: Pediatrics, Vietnam, Adolescent, Multidisciplinary, Humans, and 16 moreChild, Female, Male, Infant, Differential Diagnosis, ROC Curve, PLoS one, Newborn Infant, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Retrospective Studies, Biological markers, Clinical Decision Support Systems, Sensitivity and Specificity, Cross Sectional Studies, Bacterial meningitis, and Area Under Curve
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Research Interests: Microbiology, Parasitology, Medical Microbiology, Malaria, Crystal structure, and 13 moreMice, Animals, Male, Chemotaxis, Behavioral Animal Models, Neutrophils, Monocytes, Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Veterinary Sciences, Chemokines, Tumor Necrosis Factor–α (TNF), Myeloperoxidase, and Peritoneal Cavity
Malaria anaemia is still a major public health problem and its pathogenesis still unclear. Interestingly, the progression of anaemia is at relatively low parasitaemia with some mortality in the semi-immune individuals in the endemic areas... more
Malaria anaemia is still a major public health problem and its pathogenesis still unclear. Interestingly, the progression of anaemia is at relatively low parasitaemia with some mortality in the semi-immune individuals in the endemic areas despite adequate erythropoietin (EPO) synthesis. A recent study has shown that treatment with exogenous anti-erythropoietin (anti-EPO) antibodies (Ab) of infected mice gives protection against malaria infection, suggesting an important role for anti-EPO Ab in malaria. The objective of the study was to evaluate anti-EPO antibody levels in anaemic condition of different strains of semi-immune mice with malaria. Semi-immune status was attained in four mice strains (Balb/c, B6, CBA and NZW) by repeated infections with 10⁴Plasmodium berghei ANKA, and treatment with chloroquine/pyrimethamine. ELISA was used to measure anti-EPO Ab, transferrin and EPO while inflammatory cytokines measurement was done using bead-based multiplex assay kit. The mean anti-EPO Ab levels in the mice strains [Optical Density (OD) values at 450 nm: Balb/c (2.1); B6 (1.3); CBA (1.4) and NZW (1.7)] differed (p = 0.045), and were significantly higher when compared with uninfected controls, p…
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We present neutron scattering data that show that magnetic ordering in the vicinity of a quantum critical point is restricted to short length scales. Remarkably, the spatial extent of the magnetic correlations is independent of the inter-... more
We present neutron scattering data that show that magnetic ordering in the vicinity of a quantum critical point is restricted to short length scales. Remarkably, the spatial extent of the magnetic correlations is independent of the inter- moment distances. We argue that our data on Ce(Ru1-xFex)2Ge2 demonstrate that quantum fluctuations disorder the system and dilute the magnetic moments to such an extent that the response of the system is disorder dominated. Our observations naturally explain how E/T- scaling is possible in systems whose apparent dimensionality is above the upper critical dimension.
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Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) has been suggested to be an initiator of the polymerization of heme, which is produced as by-product on the digestion of hemoglobin, and a promoter of the H(2)O(2)-induced... more
Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) has been suggested to be an initiator of the polymerization of heme, which is produced as by-product on the digestion of hemoglobin, and a promoter of the H(2)O(2)-induced degradation of heme in food vacuoles of the malarial parasite. In this work, we have designed PfHRP2 model peptides, R18 and R27 (18 and 27 residues, respectively), and used them for optical and electron spin resonance spectroscopic measurements to confirm that the axial ligands of the heme-PfHRP2 complex are the nitrogenous donors derived from the imidazole moieties of histidine residues of PfHRP2. In addition, we revealed that the affinities of R18 and R27 for heme (K(d) = 2.21 x 10(-6) M and 0.71 x 10(-6) M, respectively) might be as high as that of PfHRP2 (K(d) = 0.94 x 10(-6) M). The R27 peptide can remove heme from membrane-intercalated heme and inhibit heme-induced hemolysis. Therefore, we suggest another function of PfHRP2: it may play an important role in the neutralization of toxic heme in the parasite cytoplasm and infected erythrocytes by removing heme from heme-bound membranes or reducing heme-induced hemolysis.
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Making a differential diagnosis between bacterial meningitis and aseptic meningitis is a critical clinical problem. The utility of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate assay for this purpose has been debated and is not yet routinely... more
Making a differential diagnosis between bacterial meningitis and aseptic meningitis is a critical clinical problem. The utility of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate assay for this purpose has been debated and is not yet routinely clinically performed. To adequately evaluate this assay, a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of the CSF lactate concentration as a marker for both bacterial meningitis and aseptic meningitis was performed. Electronic searches in PubMed, Scopus, the MEDION database and the Cochrane Library were conducted to identify relevant articles published before March 2009. A manual search of reference lists from selected articles was also conducted. Two reviewers independently selected relevant articles and extracted data on study characteristics, quality and accuracy. Twenty-five articles were identified that met the eligibility criteria. Diagnostic odds ratios were considerably homogenous (Chi-square P = 0.1009, I(2) = 27.6%), and the homogeneity was further confirmed by a Galbraith plot and meta-regression analysis using several covariates. The symmetrical summary receiver-operator characteristic curve (SROC), fitted using the Moses-Shapiro-Littenberg method, was positioned near the upper left corner of the SROC curve. The Q value and area under the curve were 0.9451 and 0.9840, respectively, indicating excellent accuracy. The diagnostic accuracy of the CSF lactate concentration was higher than those of other four conventional markers (CSF glucose, CSF/plasma glucose quotient, CSF protein, and CSF total number of leukocytes) using a head to head meta-analysis of the 25 included studies. To distinguish bacterial meningitis from aseptic meningitis, CSF lactate is a good single indicator and a better marker compared to other conventional markers.