Physical activity levels in female breast cancer patients and survivors in Ekurhuleni, South Africa

Background: By using complementary therapies, such as exercise rehabilitation during and after cancer treatment, breast cancer patients and survivors can improve their quality of life and overall health while also negating the deleterious effects of breast cancer and its treatment. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the physical activity levels of female breast cancer patients and survivors in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. Methods: The International Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (2002) determined participants' physical activity levels during work, travel and leisure. The questionnaire was disseminated to medical facilities in hard copy format and online via the Google Forms platform. Statistics were computed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) with the level of significance set at 95% (p < 0.05). Results: One hundred female breast cancer patients and survivors with a mean age of 55 years from Ekurhuleni, South Africa participated in this study. The findings reflected that most participants (59%) were meeting the American College of Sports Medicine's physical activity guidelines when considering activity done during work, travel and leisure. No significant difference was seen in physical activity participation between breast cancer patients and breast cancer survivors, or those attending private and public facilities. Conclusion: For the breast cancer patient, physical activity and exercise may be a promising and effective adjuvant treatment both during and after anticancer therapies, improving quality of life, playing a role in increasing treatment tolerance, mitigating a range of symptoms and side effects brought on by cancer diagnosis and treatments and enhancing outcomes

Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among health personnel in Yaounde, Cameroon

Background. Health care personnel constitute a group at high risk of contracting COVID-19. However, the vaccination rate in this group in our context remains low. The objective of our study was to determine the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among health care workers in Yaounde. Methods.We conducted a cross-sectional study of 360 health personnel in three hospitals in the city of Yaounde from January to March 2022, i.e., 3 months. All health personnel who gave their free consent were included. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics and Research Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Yaounde I. A logistic regression was performed to search for factors associated with reluctance to vaccinate, with a significance level of 0.05. Results.The vaccination rate against COVID-19 was 34% (123). Factors associated with vaccine hesitancy were female gender (OR [95% CI] =3.5[2.2-5.5]; p<0.001), working outside a COVID-19 management unit (OR [95% CI]=6, [2.1-18.5]; p=0.001), fear of the harmfulness of COVID-19 vaccines (OR [CI 95%] =2.7[1.7-4.2]; p<0.001), and doubt of vaccine efficacy (OR [CI 95%] =4.0[2.5-6.4]; p<0.001). Conclusion:Health personnel are still reluctant to vaccinate in our context. Factors associated with hesitancy to vaccination against COVID-19 could help deconstruct apprehensions.

Introduction. La pandémie de la COVID-19 a ajouté un fardeau supplémentaire dans les pays aux systèmes de santé déjà fragiles. Objectif : déterminer la prévalence et la séroprévalence de la COVID-19 en cas de suspicion du paludisme au cours de la deuxième vagueà Yaoundé. Méthodologie. Une étude transversale descriptive a été menée au Centre Médical le Jourdain pendant 8 semaines du 19 Avril au 13 Juin 2021 soit durant la deuxième vague au Cameroun. Pour les 86 patients avec suspicion de paludisme, des prélèvements nasopharyngé et sanguins ont été réalisés pour la recherche d'antigène du SRAS- CoV 2 et des IgG et IgM anti-SARS-CoV-2 grâce aux kits STANDARDTM Q COVID-19 Ag de SD BIOSENSOR, Corée, 2020 et StandardTM Q COVID 19 Ac IgG/IgM de SD BIOSENSOR, Corée, 2020 respectivement. La confirmation du paludisme a été faite grâce à l'examen microscopique des étalements de sang colorés. Résultats. Le paludisme était confirmé dans 20,9% (18) des cas. Les prévalences de la COVID-19 et de la coïnfection COVID19/Paludisme étaient de 8,1% et de 0,9% respectivement. Sur les 25,6% (54) des patients avec des IgM anti-COVID-19, aucun cas de microscopie positive n'a été retrouvé. Par ailleurs un peu plus de la moitié des patients avaient des anticorps IgG anti-COVID-19 qu'ils aient une goutte épaisse positive ou pas soit 56,0% (42/75) et 52,2% (71/136) respectivement. Conclusion. En cas de suspicion du paludisme en zone impaludée, il parait non négligeable de considérer la COVID-19 comme un diagnostic différentiel.

Identification of a novel PHGDH covalent inhibitor by chemical proteomics and phenotypic profiling

The first rate-limiting enzyme of the serine synthesis pathway (SSP), phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), is hyperactive in multiple tumors, which leads to the activation of SSP and promotes tumorigenesis. However, only a few inhibitors of PHGDH have been discovered to date, especially the covalent inhibitors of PHGDH. Here, we identified withangulatin A (WA), a natural small molecule, as a novel covalent inhibitor of PHGDH. Affinity-based protein profiling identified that WA could directly bind to PHGDH and inactivate the enzyme activity of PHGDH. Biolayer interferometry and LC-MS/MS analysis further demonstrated the selective covalent binding of WA to the cysteine 295 residue (Cys295) of PHGDH. With the covalent modification of Cys295, WA blocked the substrate-binding domain (SBD) of PHGDH and exerted an allosteric effect to induce PHGDH inactivation. Further studies revealed that with the inhibition of PHGDH mediated by WA, the glutathione synthesis was decreased and intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were elevated, leading to the inhibition of tumor proliferation. This study indicates WA as a novel PHGDH covalent inhibitor, which identifies Cys295 as a novel allosteric regulatory site of PHGDH and holds great potential in developing anti-tumor agents for targeting PHGDH.

Association between the management of oral health and experience of oral health education and an investigation of influential factors of the PHP index in university students / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to determine the association between the management of oral health and experiences of oral health education and to investigate the influential factors of the Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP) index in an area's university students. In addition, we explored the factors that influence the PHP index and how to effectively promote oral health. METHODS: All collected data were analyzed using the χ2 test, the t-test, and multiple regression using SPSS version 23.0 for Microsoft Windows. The statistical significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The total age of 380 participants ranged from 18 to 39 years (mean 22.22±2.43). No significant differences were found in oral health status and experiences of oral health education. CONCLUSIONS: Active national-based policies to develop regular and systematic national oral health education programs are needed.

‘Houdini’s Pituitary:’ A case report of regression of pituitary mass to Empty Sella in a 58-year-old man with autoimmune Hypophysitis / Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies

@#A 58-year-old male presented with persistent severe headache, lethargy, decline libido and no neurological deficits. Besides quadruple anterior pituitary hormonal deficiencies, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated an enlarged ring-enhanced non-homogenous pituitary. Following hormonal replacement, these symptoms improved but empty sella evolved. The challenges of diagnosis and management were discussed. Awareness of the unclear etiologyand uncertain clinical course of autoimmune hypophysitis in a man in this age group is essential for prompt and appropriate management.

Design and development of an online system of parasite's images for train-ing and evaluation / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To design and develop an online training and evaluation system for parasitic pathogen recognition. Methods The system was based on a Parasitic Diseases Specimen Image Digitization Construction Database by using MYSQL 5.0 as the system of database development software,and PHP 5 as the interface development language. It was mainly used for on-line training and evaluation of parasitic pathology diagnostic techniques. Results The system interface was designed simple, flexible,and easy to operate for medical staff. It enabled full day and 24 hours accessible to online training study and evaluation. Thus,the system broke the time and space constraints of the traditional training models. Conclusion The system provides a shared platform for the professional training of parasitic diseases,and a reference for other training tasks.

Design of library entrance examination system for new students and its implementation in Library of Liaoning University of Science and Technology / 中华医学图书情报杂志

A B/S framework -based library entrance examination system was developed for new students using the PHP language and SQL server database according to their unsatisfactory training results, which can maintain the in-formation of entrance examination-involved students and examination papers, automatic generating and marking of examination papers. The new students were registered to a regular reader after they passed the examination, and could thus have the right to entry the library, select a seat, loan books or journals, use a computer, and participate in library-held culture activities. The new students could understand the library rules and regulations, control their behaviors against library rules and regulations, and rapidly place themselves in the study environment of library.

Analysis of Preferential Hyperacuity Perimeter Results in Maculopathy Caused by Various Retinal Diseases

PURPOSE: The Preferential Hyperacuity Perimeter (PHP) is a device designed to monitor the development of choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients. Recent studies have reported the efficacy of the PHP in early detection of AMD. To evaluate hyperacuity, a dot deviation signal is flashed to the central 14 degrees of the macular visual field and the patient's perceived hyperacuity defect is recorded. The purpose of our study was to identify the role of the PHP in analyzing visual functions of patients with maculopathy caused by retinal diseases other than AMD. METHODS: Seventy-four eyes of 55 patients with macular abnormalities caused by various retinal diseases (44 eyes of diabetic retinopathy, 6 eyes of central serous chorioretinopathy, 24 eyes of other retinal diseases) underwent PHP, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography (FAG). RESULTS: Of the 74 eyes with maculopathy, 60 eyes (81%) were positive on the PHP. By disease, 40 eyes (40/44, 91%) with diabetic retinopathy, 3 eyes (3/6, 50%) with central serous chorioretinopathy and 17 eyes (17/24, 71%) with other retinal diseases were positive. Among them, the location of hyperacuity defect lesions determined by PHP correlated well with the location shown on OCT and FAG in 6 eyes (6/40, 15%) with diabetic retinopathy, 1 eye (1/3, 33%) with central serous chorioretinopathy and 5 eyes (5/17, 29%) with other retinal diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Many retinal diseases that lead to maculopathy revealed a hyperacuity defect on PHP when the lesion was located not only in the retinal pigment epithelium but also in the outer retinal layer. Special attention to the patient's visual acuity and visual field defects is required when analyzing PHP results since these factors can influence the PHP evaluation.

Correlation of OCT and Preferential Hyperacuity Perimeter in Exudative Age-related Macular Degeneration

PURPOSE: Preferential hyperacuity perimeter (PHP) is a device that measures metamorphopsia in the central 14 degrees of the macular visual field which is presented by hyperacuity defect. We elucidated a hyperacuity defect lesion of PHP in exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by Optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Nineteen eyes of 18 patients with exudative AMD diagnosed by fundus examination and fluorescein angiography (FA) underwent PHP. We then elucidated any hyperacuity defect lesion of PHP by fundus photography, FA and OCT. For a control, 20 eyes of 10 age-matched persons who had no ophthalmological abnormality underwent PHP and OCT to determine if hyperacuity defect would appear. RESULTS: Hyperacuity defect lesion appeared in 18 eyes (95%) of AMD patients. There was good locational correlation between the hyperacuity defect lesions and lesions in the fudoscopic examination in 16 eyes of 18, but there was a counterpart relation at the superior-inferior and left-right in 2 eyes. Hyperacuity defect lesion in PHP was of smooth or irregular elevation of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in OCT. In the control, hyperacuity defect lesion appeared in 1 eye (5%) and it was normal in OCT. CONCLUSIONS: PHP showed a highly positive rate in detecting AMD-related lesion. The hyperacuity defects that are noted by the PHP are produced from elevation of the RPE.

Clinical Characteristics Study of Pseudohypoparathyroidism / 대한소아내분비학회지

PURPOSE: Pseudohypoparathyroidism(PHP) is caused by a defect of G protein and receptor despite of normal parathyroid hormone(PTH) secretion. It is a rare disorder characterized by hypocalcemia, hyperphophatemia, elevated PTH levels and albright hereditory osteodystrophy(AHO). We retrospectively reviewed the clinical characteristics of PHP. METHODS: We reviewed clinical features, laboratory findings, and outcome to treatment of 8 PHP patients, diagnosed at Seoul National University Hospital from 1988 to rool. RESULTS: Male to Female ratio was 1.7:1 and mean age at diagnosis was 11.8 years old. The initial average height SDS was 0.13+/-.08 and the average weight SDS was 0.43+/-.31. The most common symptom was seizure. Only one patient had typical AHO, three patients had mental retardation. Brain MRI or CT showed basal ganglia calcification in 3 patients. All patients treated with vitamin D and calcium supplementation could maintained normal serum levels of calcium and phophorus. CONCLUSION: PHP should be suspected in patient with seizure of unknown origin, aged above 5 year-old. AHO and mental retardation could be adjuvant signs to the diagnosis of PHP. But definite diagnosis could be made by laboratory work up.