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Having been among the top ranks of worldwide ICT outsourcing indices for a number of years, Malaysia is familiar with the role outsourcing has played in changing today’s business landscape. However, concerns of data privacy and security, and the risks of data leakage arise during the course of outsourcing as the process may involve the exposure or handling of sensitive and confidential client and organization information to outsource providers since the company has little control over its outsourced data when it is in the provider’s possession. Empirical findings on the risks and countermeasures of data leakage are presented, in the context of outsourcing in Malaysia. From the findings, it was apparent that the inherent risks were signifi cant and that the countermeasures were positively correlated to reducing the risks. This study contributes to the limited pool of knowledge on data leakage issues in outsourcing. Organizations engaging in or contemplating outsourcing will find the results beneficial not only in understanding the data leakage concerns but also in supporting the high priority for these concerns to be addressed. However, more effort is required to enforce the countermeasures as prudent precautionary routines to reduce data leakage risks.

Abstract Background The UMODL1 gene was found to be associated with high myopia in Japanese. This study aimed to investigate this gene for association with high myopia in Chinese. Methods Two groups of unrelated Han Chinese from Hong Kong were recruited using the same criteria: Sample Set 1 comprising 356 controls (spherical equivalent, SE, within ±1 diopter or D) and 356 cases (SE ≤ −8D), and Sample Set 2 comprising 394 controls and 526 cases. Fifty-nine tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected and genotyped for Sample Set 1. Four SNPs were followed up with Sample Set 2. Both single-marker and haplotype analyses were performed with cases defined by different SE thresholds. Secondary phenotypes were also analyzed for association with genotypes. Results Data filtering left 57 SNPs for analysis. Single-marker analysis did not reveal any significant differences between cases and controls in the initial study. However, haplotype GCT for markers rs220168-rs220170-rs11911271 showed marginal significance (empirical P = 0.076; SE ≤ −12D for cases), but could not be replicated in the follow-up study. In contrast, non-synonymous SNP rs3819142 was associated with high myopia (SE ≤ −10D) in the follow-up study, but could not be confirmed using Sample Set 1. The SNP rs2839471, positive in the original Japanese study, gave negative results in all our analyses. Exploratory analysis of secondary phenotypes indicated that allele C of rs220120 was associated with anterior chamber depth (adjusted P = 0.0460). Conclusions Common UMODL1 polymorphisms were unlikely to be important in the genetic susceptibility to high myopia in Han Chinese.

Abstract Background Despite being a well-established strategy for cost reduction in disease gene mapping, pooled DNA association study is much less popular than the individual DNA approach. This situation is especially true for pooled DNA genomewide association study (GWAS), for which very few computer resources have been developed for its data analysis. This motivates the development of UPDG (Utilities package for data analysis of Pooled DNA GWAS). Results UPDG represents a generalized framework for data analysis of pooled DNA GWAS with the integration of Unix/Linux shell operations, Perl programs and R scripts. With the input of raw intensity data from GWAS, UPDG performs the following tasks in a stepwise manner: raw data manipulation, correction for allelic preferential amplification, normalization, nested analysis of variance for genetic association testing, and summarization of analysis results. Detailed instructions, procedures and commands are provided in the comprehensive user manual describing the whole process from preliminary preparation of software installation to final outcome acquisition. An example dataset (input files and sample output files) is also included in the package so that users can easily familiarize themselves with the data file formats, working procedures and expected output. Therefore, UPDG is especially useful for users with some computer knowledge, but without a sophisticated programming background. Conclusions UPDG provides a free, simple and platform-independent one-stop service to scientists working on pooled DNA GWAS data analysis, but with less advanced programming knowledge. It is our vision and mission to reduce the hindrance for performing data analysis of pooled DNA GWAS through our contribution of UPDG. More importantly, we hope to promote the popularity of pooled DNA GWAS, which is a very useful research strategy.

Background: Understanding the impact of race/ethnicity on the prevalence and presentation of endometriosis may help improve patient care., Objective: To review systematically the evidence for the influence of race/ethnicity on the prevalence of endometriosis., Search Strategy: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, LILACS, SCIELO, and CINAHL databases, as well as the grey literature, were searched from date of inception until September 2017., Selection Criteria: Randomised control trials and observational studies reporting on prevalence and/or clinical presentation of endometriosis., Data Collection and Analysis: Twenty studies were included in the review and 18 studies were used to calculate odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) through a random effects model. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa risk of bias scale (NOS)., Main Results: Compared with White women, Black woman were less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.29-0.83), whereas Asian women were more likely to have this diagnosis (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.03-2.58). Compared with White women, there was a statistically significant difference in likelihood of endometriosis diagnosis in Hispanic women (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.14-1.50). Significant heterogeneity (I 2  > 50%) was present in the analysis for all racial/ethnic groups but was partially reduced in subgroup analysis by clinical presentation, particularly when endometriosis was diagnosed as self-reported, CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of endometriosis appears to be influenced by race/ethnicity. Most notably, Black women appear less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis compared with White women. There is scarce literature exploring the influence of race/ethnicity on symptomatology, as well as treatment access, preference, and response., Tweetable Abstract: Prevalence of endometriosis may be influenced by race/ethnicity, but there is limited quality literature exploring this topic., (© 2019 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.)

An anthropometric study was conducted on more than 13 500 children aged 04 years in 1988. Percentile charts were plotted for height for age, weight for age, weight for height and head circumference for age. When compared to an earlier study done in 1972, it was found that Singapore pre-school children had increased in height by 4.4 %; weight by 10.9 %; and head circumference by 4.1 %. When the median height for age, weight for age and head circumference for age were plotted against those of the NCHS charts (1978), Singapore's pre-school children were generally shorter, lighter and had smaller head circumferences than their American counterparts of the same age. But, the median weight-for-height for each age group was comparable to the Americans. The results indicate the secular trend of growth in Singapore children and a trend towards reaching their full genetic potential for growth.

An upward trend in obesity has been observed in Singapore school children over the 15 years prior to the study. A case-control study of 400 children (mean age 10 years) and their parents was conducted to determine some of the factors likely to be associated with obesity in primary-school children. It included dietary practices and intake, activity patterns, family history and social factors. It was found that obese children were more likely to consume foods that were deep-fried or sweet and were more likely to have at least one obese parent and sibling. A variety of intervention measures were taken to reduce the prevalence and severity of obesity in school children following the study.

In 4 patients with cutaneous urinary diversion who underwent percutaneous ureteral stone removal, similar ureteral complications developed as a result of severe ureteritis at the site of the stone. Ureteral narrowing occurred within days of percutaneous ureteral stone removal, progressing to complete occlusion in 2 cases. These complications led to prolonged hospitalization and additional procedures for each patient. One patient with an occluded ureter was lost to followup. Two patients responded satisfactorily to repeated ureteral dilations and prolonged stenting. One patient underwent excision of the affected ureteral segment. The average interval between tube placement and removal of tubes and stents was 15 weeks in 4 patients. The average inpatient period was 24 days. Patients with a cutaneous urinary conduit diversion may be at increased risk for complications following percutaneous treatment of ureteral stones. This risk may be secondary to an intense inflammatory response due to infection and other local factors.