Duke-NUS Medical School

EPHA2 and WNT reciprocally regulate MAPK-dependent gene expression in a pancreatic cancer model

Wnt signaling drives tumorigenesis in multiple cancers, in part through complex interactions with other oncogenic pathways including the MAPK cascade. In Wnt-addicted cancers, pharmacologic and genetic inhibition of Wnt signaling activates multiple receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs...

How Patients Define Quality in Dental Care: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Patient-centered care is central to high-quality health care, yet systems-level understanding of how patients themselves define dental care quality remains limited. This systematic review synthesized qualitative evidence using the Donabedian framework to examine patients' percept...

Oral Health Mediates Income Decline Over Time in Australian Adults

The objective of this study was to investigate if poor oral health mediates income losses over a 12-y follow-up period in Australian adults. Data were obtained from adults aged ≤65 y, selected to minimize the influence of retirement, who participated in both waves (2004-2006 and...

Telomere variant sequences encode the genetic blueprint for allele-specific telomere length

The ends of human chromosomes are capped by specialized nucleoprotein structures, termed telomeres, which are essential for genome stability. Recent advances in long-read sequencing have enabled allele-specific telomere length measurements at nucleotide resolution, uncovering ext...

Optimal Strain Combinations for Prognostic Prediction in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

BACKGROUND: Strain parameters are sensitive indicators of myocardial performance, but the optimal combination for prognostic prediction in pulmonary arterial hypertension remains unclear. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension between June 2013 and June...

Hunting for microsatellite instability in long-read data with Owl

Abstract Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a key biomarker of mismatch repair deficiency and response to immunotherapy, yet most existing genomic detection methods are optimized for short-read sequencing and rely on small panels of homopolymer markers, limiting the ability to c...

Early adolescent self-harm: examining prevalence and risk factors in a multi-ethnic Asian birth cohort

Abstract Background Early adolescence marks a vulnerable developmental phase for the emergence of self-harm behaviours, which can potentially be life-threatening. However, the prevalence and risk factors of early adolescent self-harm, particularly in non-Western community-based p...

Tracking regulatory convergence in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC): progress and gaps in key performance indicators

Abstract Purpose To assess progress in regulatory convergence among APEC economies using updated Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and to identify opportunities for strengthening reliance and work sharing, while informing future Phase 2 KPI development. Our work describes the adop...

Mapping the omics landscape for peri‐implant diseases: A scoping review

Abstract Objectives To map omics evidence across peri‐implant health, peri‐implant mucositis, and peri‐implantitis, and to identify recurring molecular patterns and candidate biomarker signals relevant to diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. Materials and Methods This scoping re...

Effects of mandibular advancement device versus continuous positive airway pressure on cardiac remodeling in obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized CMR substudy

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with adverse cardiac remodeling, including diffuse myocardial fibrosis. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the standard treatment for OSA, while mandibular advancement devices (MAD) may represent an alternative. However, thei...

Optic nerve head blood flow autoregulation during isometric exercise in primary open‐angle glaucoma assessed by laser speckle flowgraphy

Abstract Purpose To assess optic nerve head blood flow (ONHBF) autoregulation in patients with early‐ to moderate‐stage primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) and age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) and isometric handgrip exercise. Methods In t...

The global cardiovascular-kidney-liver-metabolic burden from 1990 to 2023

Background The cardiovascular-kidney-liver-metabolic (CKLM) framework represents the multi-organ interplay of systemic metabolic disorders that drive the global burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Methods This study is a descriptive epidemiological analysis of the Global Bur...

Challenges in deep learning-based small organ segmentation: A benchmarking perspective for medical research with limited datasets

Accurate segmentation of carotid artery structures in histopathological images is vital for cardiovascular disease research. This study systematically evaluates ten deep learning segmentation models including classical architectures, modern CNNs, a Vision Transformer, and foundat...

Codon Design Online (CoDOn): a comprehensive web application of synthetic gene design with multi-criteria and multi-parameters for heterologous expression

Codon optimization is a routine yet high-impact step in de novo gene design for heterologous expression and serves as an important tool in synthetic biology. Protein expression output depends on multiple sequence-level determinants, such as global codon-usage, codon-pair context,...

Characterizationof Dapalides D and E and GenomicComparison of the Two Co-Occurring Dapalide-Producing Dapis spp.

Abstract Marine cyanobacteria are a rich source of diverse bioactive natural products, targeting proteins involved in many diseases. Here, we combined metagenomic analysis to enhance the structure elucidation process of two new cyclodepsipeptides named dapalides D (1) and E (2) f...

Cross-sectional survey of perimenopausal women for menopause symptoms and attitudes in Singapore

OBJECTIVE: Menopause symptoms and experiences vary considerably between women and can be influenced by multiple biopsychosocial and cultural factors, age and ethnicity. This study investigated the symptoms and attitudes of perimenopausal women in Singapore. METHOD: Women aged 40-...

Evaluating large language model performance in US FDA regulatory science

Abstract Background Clinical and population decision-making relies on the systematic evaluation of extensive regulatory evidence. The FDA drug reviews provide detailed information on clinical trial design, enrollment criteria, sample size, randomization, comparators, endpoints, a...

Challenges in accessing health information among patients with uncontrolled hypertension in Singapore: a qualitative study

Accessing health information is the crucial first step before an individual can understand, appraise, and apply it to improve their health. Health information is important for patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, where effective self-management is essential for di...

Age-Associated Patterns of Cardiovascular Risk and Disease Phenotypes Across Diverse Care Settings: The GLOB-cAGE Consortium

Reported prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and phenotypes varies widely. In multi-cohort analyses, such variation reflects population risk, care setting, and data capture. We harmonized baseline data from four analytic cohorts (N=54,188, aged ≥50 years) in f...

Characterisation of liver disease using quantitative MRI: report of the imaging arm of the ELEGANCE study

Evolving disease aetiology and rising prevalence of chronic liver disease are driving an increase in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Non-contrast quantitative MRI (qMRI) has shown promising capability for characterising liver health and risk of liver related outcomes, but has not...