Early Recognition of Pediatric Strokes in the Emergency Department: Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Factors Impeding Stroke Diagnosis in Children

Si Qi Tan(Si Qi Tan),Wen Qi Cher(Wen Qi Cher),Shu-Ling Chong(Shu-Ling Chong),Angelina Su Yin Ang(Angelina Su Yin Ang ),Sashikumar Ganapathy(Sashikumar Ganapathy ),Derrick Wei Shih Chan(Derrick Wei Shi 대한소아신경학회 2022 대한소아신경학회지 Vol.31 No.1

Purpose: Strokes are challenging to diagnose in pediatric emergency departments (EDs) as level of suspicion is low and atypical presentations are common. We analyzed clinical features, epidemiology and factors of delayed identification in arterial ischemic strokes (AIS) and hemorrhagic strokes (HS). Methods: Single-center retrospective cohort study of children aged between 29 days and 18 years old diagnosed with stroke between July 2016 to June 2021. Results: Among 36 children, 11 (30.5%) had AIS, 25 (69.4%) had HS. Median age for AIS was 9 years (interquartile range [IQR], 2 to 9) and HS 9 years (IQR, 1 to 11.5) (P=0.715). Focal neurological deficit was seen in 72.7% of AIS and 20% of HS (P=0.006). Only 18.2% of AIS and 52.0% of HS presented within 6 hours of symptoms. Median time from symptom onset to ED presentation was 24 hours (IQR, 12 to 28) for AIS and 7 hours (IQR, 1.8 to 48) for HS (P=0.595). Most (85.6%) arrived by own transport. Median time from presentation to neuroimaging was 7 hours (IQR, 0.9 to 7) for AIS and 4.8 (IQR, 1.3 to 16.8) hours for HS (P=0.376). Eleven patients, 9/25 (36.0%) HS and 2/11 (18.2%) AIS, did not have stroke as differential diagnosis at ED (P=0.714). Common initial diagnoses were viral illness or headaches. On univariate analysis, age <1 (odds ratio [OR], 17.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 250.4; P=0.035) and absence of focal neurological deficit (OR, 13.091; 95% CI, 1.5 to 117.9; P=0.022) were significant factors for delayed identification. Conclusion: Index of suspicion for pediatric strokes among caregivers and clinicians should be increased. Public awareness campaigns are recommended.

Comparative Evaluation of Three Purification Methods for the Nucleocapsid Protein of Newcastle Disease Virus from Escherichia coli Homogenates

Tan Yan Peng,Ling Tau Chuan,Yusoff Khatijah,Tan Wen Siang,Tey Beng Ti The Microbiological Society of Korea 2005 The journal of microbiology Vol.43 No.3

In the present study, the performances of conventional purification methods, packed bed adsorption (PBA), and expanded bed adsorption (EBA) for the purification of the nucleocapsid protein (NP) of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) from Escherichia coli homogenates were evaluated. The conventional methods for the recovery of NP proteins involved multiple steps, such as centrifugation, precipitation, dialysis, and sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. For the PBA, clarified feedstock was used for column loading, while in EBA, unclarified feedstock was used. Streamline chelating immobilized with $Ni^{2+}$ ion was used as an affinity ligand for both PBA and EBA. The final protein yield obtained in conventional and PBA methods was $1.26\%$ and $5.56\%$, respectively. It was demonstrated that EBA achieved the highest final protein yield of $9.6\%$ with a purification factor of 7. Additionally, the total processing time of the EBA process has been shortened by 8 times compared to that of the conventional method.

Weather Recognition Based on 3C-CNN

( Ling Tan ),( Dawei Xuan ),( Jingming Xia ),( Chao Wang ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2020 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.14 No.8

Human activities are often affected by weather conditions. Automatic weather recognition is meaningful to traffic alerting, driving assistance, and intelligent traffic. With the boost of deep learning and AI, deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) are utilized to identify weather situations. In this paper, a three-channel convolutional neural network (3C-CNN) model is proposed on the basis of ResNet50.The model extracts global weather features from the whole image through the ResNet50 branch, and extracts the sky and ground features from the top and bottom regions by two CNN5 branches. Then the global features and the local features are merged by the Concat function. Finally, the weather image is classified by Softmax classifier and the identification result is output. In addition, a medium-scale dataset containing 6,185 outdoor weather images named WeatherDataset-6 is established. 3C-CNN is used to train and test both on the Two-class Weather Images and WeatherDataset-6. The experimental results show that 3C-CNN achieves best on both datasets, with the average recognition accuracy up to 94.35% and 95.81% respectively, which is superior to other classic convolutional neural networks such as AlexNet, VGG16, and ResNet50. It is prospected that our method can also work well for images taken at night with further improvement.

Oxidative Stress, Diet and Prostate Cancer

Tan Bee Ling,Norhaizan Mohd Esa 대한남성과학회 2021 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.39 No.2

Prostate cancer has become the second leading cancer in men worldwide. Androgen plays an important role in normal functioning, development, and differentiation of the prostate, and thus is considered to be the most powerful candidate that mediates reactive oxygen species (ROS) balance in the prostate. The elevation of ROS has been associated with the progression and development of this disease. Conventional therapy has shown a high cure rate in patients with localized prostate cancer. Despite the patients respond favorably initially, this therapy fails to response in the advanced stage of the diseases even in the absence of androgens. Indeed, the onset and progression of prostate cancer could be prevented by changing dietary habits. Much information indicates that oxidative stress and prostate cancer can be modulated by dietary components rich in antioxidants. While there is substantial evidence to suggest an association between prostate cancer risk and ROS-mediated oxidative stress; therefore, the interactions and mechanisms of this phenomenon are worth to discuss further. This review aimed to discuss the mechanisms of action of oxidative stress involved in the progression of prostate cancer. We also highlighted how some of the vital dietary components dampen or exacerbate inflammation, oxidative stress, and prostate cancer. Overall, the reported information would provide a useful approach to the prevention of prostate cancer.

Total intravenous anesthesia for liver resections: anesthetic implications and safety

Tan Selene Yan Ling,Hwang Nian Chih 대한마취통증의학회 2022 Korean Journal of Anesthesiology Vol.75 No.5

Inhalational anesthetics have been the default agents for general anesthesia maintenance for several decades. However, with advances in total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) and a growing body of evidence on the potential benefits of TIVA, anesthesiologists need to question this paradigm. Some of the benefits of propofol-based TIVA, such as its antiemetic properties and patients’ smooth emergence, are widely acknowledged. A growing body of evidence suggests that TIVA may potentially benefit the immune system and cancer outcomes. From an existential health perspective, there is evidence that inhalational agents have a materially higher global warming potential than propofol-based TIVA. Despite the compelling potential benefits of propofol-based TIVA, there are barriers to its widespread adoption. To examine the applicability of TIVA as a mainstay agent more rigorously, we discuss the safety and applicability of propofol-based TIVA in the context of complex major abdominal surgery, specifically, liver resection surgery. We also discuss the use of propofol-based TIVA in liver resection surgery with a broad, integrated approach, addressing general and specific clinical considerations, economic factors, and operating room turnover.

Carbon capture by alkaline absorbent using octadecyltrichlorosilane modified PVDF/TiO2 membrane

Why-Ling Tan,Hoi-Fang Tan,Nor Aini Ahmad,Norhaziyana Hamzah,Abdul Latif Ahmada,Choe Peng Leo 한국화학공학회 2020 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.37 No.3

Carbon capture efficiency of membrane gas absorption was improved using a nearly superhydrophobic membrane. This membrane, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, was blended with TiO2 nanoparticles and post-modified with octadecyltrichloro silane to reduce wetting. Wetting reduction is important to minimize mass transfer resistance in membrane pores during carbon capture. The hydrophilic TiO2 nanoparticles reduced membrane pore size and hydrophobicity in dual bath coagulation, but they offered active sites for silane modification as proven by Fourier-transform infrared spectra to achieve a water contact angle up to 148.8o. A non-wetting surface near to Cassie- Baxter state was formed due to the nano-roughness of TiO2 nanoparticles and hydrophobic functional groups of silane. The modified membrane showed higher CO2 absorption flux in comparison to the neat PVDF membrane, as much as 114% improvement. The modified membrane also achieved faster carbon capture into water. Furthermore, PVDF and PVDF/TiO2 membranes modified with octadecyltrichloro silane in ethanol (volume ratio of 5 : 50) were less affected by NaOH absorbent, displaying great potential for carbon capture and storage using alkaline waste.

Knowledge management enablers, knowledge sharing and research collaboration: a study of knowledge management at research universities in Malaysia

Christine Nya-Ling Tan,Shuhaida Md. Noor 기술경영경제학회 2013 ASIAN JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION Vol.21 No.2

Universities need to be aware of the impact of knowledge management (KM) in order tobecome world-class academic institutions. This research fills an unexplored gap in regardsto the impact of KM enablers (i.e. trust, knowledge self-efficacy, reciprocal benefits, topmanagement support, organizational rewards, organizational culture, KM systeminfrastructure and KM system quality, openness in communication, and face-to-face (F2F)interactive communication) on knowledge sharing (KS) that supports research collaborationby faculty members. No prior research has focused on the impact of KM enablers thatinfluence research university members to share knowledge. A self-administeredquestionnaire was employed on members of five research universities in Malaysia to collectdata; subsequently, 421 usable responses were analysed using partial least squares pathmodelling. KS by members was influenced by trust, organizational rewards, organizationalculture, KM system quality, openness in communication, and F2F interactivecommunication; in addition, research collaboration was strongly influenced by KS. TheKM–KS–collaboration model shows a KM influence of individual–organizational–technological–communication constructs that encourages KS by members to supportresearch collaboration.

Psychosocial Determinants of Knee Osteoarthritis Progression: Results from the Promoting Independence in Our Seniors with Arthritis Study

Guo Jeng Tan,Sheng Hui Kioh,Sumaiyah Mat,Maw Pin Tan,Shirley Huey Ling Chan,Jacintha Mei Ying Lee,Yee Wen Tan 대한노인병학회 2023 Annals of geriatric medicine and research Vol.27 No.4

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of physical disability among older adults. While established risk factors for knee OA include age and increased body weight, few studies have examined psychosocial risk factors or progression of knee OA. Methods: The Promoting Independence in our Seniors with Arthritis study recruited participants aged 65 years and over from orthopedic outpatients and community engagement events. Participants were invited to annual visits during which knee OA symptoms were assessed with the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), social network using the 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale and anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Knee OA worsening was defined by a 5% reduction in mean KOOS scores at the last visit compared to the first visit. Results: Data were available from 148 participants, mean age 66.2±6.5 years and 74.1% female, of whom 28 (18.9%) experienced OA worsening over a median follow-up period of 29 months. Univariate analyses revealed that age, sex, height, grip strength, and social network were associated with OA worsening. Social network remained statistically significantly associated with OA worsening after adjustment for age and sex difference (odds ratio=0.924; 95% confidence interval, 0.857–0.997). The relationship between social network and OA worsening were attenuated by both depression and handgrip strength at baseline. Conclusion: Psychological status and muscle strength may be modifiable risk factors for social network which may in turn prevent knee OA worsening and should be targeted in future intervention studies.

Comparative Evaluation of Three Purification Methods for the NucleocapsidProtein of Newcastle Disease Virus from Escherichia coli Homogenates

Yan Peng Tan,Tau Chuan Ling,Khatijah Yusoff,Wen Siang Tan,Beng Ti Tey 한국미생물학회 2005 The journal of microbiology Vol.43 No.3

In the present study, the performances of conventional purification methods, packed bed adsorption (PBA), and expanded bed adsorption (EBA) for the purification of the nucleocapsid protein (NP) of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) from Escherichia coli homogenates were evaluated. The conventional methods for the recovery of NP proteins involved multiple steps, such as centrifugation, precipitation, dialysis, and sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. For the PBA, clarified feedstock was used for column loading, while in EBA, unclarified feedstock was used. Streamline chelating immobilized with Ni2+ ion was used as an affinity ligand for both PBA and EBA. The final protein yield obtained in conventional and PBA methods was 1.26% and 5.56%, respectively. It was emonstrated that EBA achieved the highest final protein yield of 9.6% with a purification factor of 7. Additionally, the total processing time of the EBA process has been shortened by 8 times compared to that of the conventional method.

Large-scale somatic embryogenesis and regeneration of Panax notoginseng

You, Xiang Ling,Tan, Xiao,Dai, Jin Ling,Li, Yu Hua,Choi, Yong Eui Springer-Verlag 2012 Plant cell, tissue and organ culture Vol.108 No.2