Introduction: Medical products transportation has become an important research topic requiring multidisciplinary collaboration among experts in medicine, engineering, and health economics. Current modes of transportation are unable to overcome the limited settings in maternal healthcare, particularly during the event of obstetric emergencies. The drone is a promising medical product aerial transportation (MedART) that holds an enormous potential for delivery of medical supplies in the healthcare system. We conducted a systematic review to examine scientific evidence of positive impact of drone transportation on maternal health. Methods: The following electronic databases were searched from inception to July 2019: ScienceDirect, PubMed, and EMBASE. The report was made in accordance with the principles of PRISMA guidelines. The search terms used were related to drones including unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and unmanned aerial system (UAS), and related to obstetric/maternal including obstetric emergencies and postpartum hemorrhage. Studies were selected if the intervention used were drones, and if any direct or indirect maternal health indicators were reported. Meta-analysis was not done throughout the study in view of the anticipated heterogeneity of each study. Results: Our initial search yielded a total of 244 relevant publications, from which 236 were carried forward for a title and abstract screening. After careful examination, only two were included for systematic synthesis. Among the reasons for exclusion were irrelevance to maternal health purpose, and irrelevance to drone applications in healthcare. An updated search yielded one additional study that was also included. Overall, two studies assessed drones for blood products delivery, and one study used drones to transport blood samples. Conclusion: A significant deficiency was found in the number of reported studies analyzing mode of medical products transportation and adaptation of drones in maternal healthcare. Future drone research framework should focus on maternal healthcare-specific drone applications in order to reap benefits in this area.

The disruptive potentials of drones are rapidly growing including for the delivery of blood samples in healthcare. Maintenance of the quality of blood samples is important to ascertain that the drone is a safe mode of transportation, particularly during emergencies and in critical cases. The influence of the drone carriage material on blood samples transportation was investigated in this study. Two phases of drone simulation flights were conducted in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. In Phase 1, the effect of drone carriage material on the internal storage temperature during blood samples transportation was determined. Three types of carriage materials were compared: aluminium, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, and polypropylene (PP) plastic. In Phase 2, the quality of drone-transported blood samples was assessed, using the best material from Phase 1 as the drone carriage material. Biochemical and hematological analyses of 60 blood samples were conducted using five parameters. In Phase 1, EPS foam was found to be the best material to maintain a stable and favorable internal storage temperature at mean kinetic temperature ±SD of 4.70 ±1.14°C. Much higher and unfavorable mean kinetic temperatures were recorded for aluminium (11.46 ±0.35°C) and plastic (14.17 ±0.05°C). In Phase 2, laboratory tests show that the quality of blood samples was well maintained, and the mean biochemical and hematological parameters of drone-transported blood samples showed no significant alteration compared to ground controls. Drone carriage material is an important determinant of the quality of blood samples transported by drone, particularly in hot equatorial climates as in Malaysia. The blood storage temperature was best maintained using EPS foam, as evidenced by the favorable average temperature and preservation of hematological and biochemical parameters of the blood samples.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is an X-linked genetic disorder characterized by reduced G6PD enzyme levels in the blood. This condition is common in populations exposed to malaria; an acute febrile disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. G6PD-deficient individuals may suffer from acute hemolysis following the prescription of Primaquine, an antimalarial treatment. The population at risk for such a condition includes the Senoi group of Orang Asli, a remote indigenous community in Malaysia. This study aimed to elucidate the G6PD molecular heterogeneity in this subethnic group which is important for malaria elimination. A total of 662 blood samples (369 males and 293 females) from the Senoi subethnic group were screened for G6PD deficiency using a quantitative G6PD assay, OSMMR2000-D kit with Hb normalization. After excluding the family members, the overall prevalence of G6PD deficiency in the studied population was 15.2% (95% CI: 11–19%; 56 of 369), with males (30 of 172; 17.4%) outnumbering females (26 of 197; 13.2%). The adjusted male median (AMM), defined as 100% G6PD activity, was 11.8 IU/gHb. A total of 36 participants (9.6%; 26 male and 10 female) were deficient (G)(39.1%; n = 34), G6PD Viangchan (c.871G>A)(25.3%; n = 22), G6PD Union (c.1360C>T)(21.8%; n = 19), c.1311C>T(20.7%; n = 18), G6PD Kaiping (c.1388G>A)(8.0%; n = 7), and G6PD Coimbra (c.592C>T)(2.3%; n = 2). Our analysis revealed 27 hemizygote males, 18 heterozygote females, 7 homozygote females, and 2 compound heterozygote females. This study confirms the high prevalence of G6PD deficiency among the Senoi Malaysian Orang Asli, with a significant degree of molecular heterogeneity. More emphasis should be placed on screening for G6PD status and proper and safe use of Primaquine in the elimination of malaria among this indigenous population.

Background/Objectives: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are emerging as a crucial prognostic biomarker in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, their clinical utility remains constrained by the subjectivity and interobserver variability of manual scoring, despite standardization efforts by the International TILs Working Group (TIL-WG). This study aimed to evaluate the interobserver agreement among pathologists in scoring stromal and intratumoral TILs from H&E-stained TNBC slides and to identify contributing histological factors. Methods: Two consultant pathologists at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Kuala Lumpur, independently assessed 64 TNBC cases using TIL-WG guidelines. Interobserver agreement was quantified using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cohen’s kappa coefficient. Cases with over 10% scoring discrepancies underwent review by a third pathologist, and a consensus discussion was held to explore the underlying confounders. Results: Our results showed moderate interobserver agreement for stromal TILs (ICC = 0.58) and strong agreement for intratumoral TILs (ICC = 0.71). Significant variability was attributed to three main confounding variables: heterogeneous TIL distribution, poorly defined tumor-stroma interface, and focal dense lymphoid infiltrates. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for standardized TIL scoring protocols and suggest that validated AI-based tools may help mitigate observer variability in future TIL assessments.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd) is one of the most common genetic disorders worldwide and remains highly prevalent in malaria-endemic regions. Individuals with G6PDd are at risk of severe complications, including acute haemolytic anaemia, when exposed to oxidative triggers. In Malaysia, the Proto-Malay Orang Asli (PMOA), the second largest indigenous group in Peninsular Malaysia, represents a vulnerable population. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and mutation spectrum of G6PDd in this community. A total of 258 peripheral blood samples (91 males, 167 females) were screened using a quantitative G6PD assay (OSMMR2000-D). DNA from 73 samples was genotyped with the Hybribio G6PD GenoArray test, and 39 underwent targeted sequencing. The adjusted male median (AMM) of G6PD activity was 9.6 U/gHb (95% CI: 8.9–10.3 U/gHb), with 30% and 80% thresholds corresponding to 2.9 and 7.7 U/gHb, respectively. At the 30% cut-off threshold, the overall estimated prevalence of G6PDd was 6.8% (16/237; 12 males and 4 females). A total of 21 subjects were G6PD-intermediate (7 males and 14 females), and the remaining 221 subjects were G6PD-normal (72 males and 150 females). Genotyping identified 18 hemizygous males, 13 heterozygous females, and 3 homozygous females. Five G6PD variants were detected: G6PD Viangchan (39.5%), G6PD Coimbra (28.9%), G6PD Union (23.7%), G6PD Kaiping (5.3%), and rs782038151 (2.6%). This study demonstrates that G6PDd is common in the PMOA population, with notable molecular diversity. These findings have important implications for malaria control and the safe use of antimalarial drugs in this high-risk community.

Background: Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are emerging as a crucial prog-nostic biomarker in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, their clinical utility remains constrained by the subjectivity and interobserver variability of manual scoring, despite standardization efforts by the International TILs Working Group (TIL-WG). This study aimed to evaluate the interobserver agreement among pathologists in scoring stromal and intratumoral TILs from H&E-stained TNBC slides and to identify contrib-uting histological factors. Methods: Two consultant pathologists at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Kuala Lumpur independently assessed 64 TNBC cases using TIL-WG guidelines. Interobserver agreement was quantified using intraclass correlation coeffi-cient (ICC) and Cohen's Kappa coefficient. Cases with over 10% scoring discrepancies underwent review by a third pathologist and a consensus discussion was held to explore the underlying confounders. Results: Our results showed moderate interobserver agreement for stromal TILs (ICC = 0.58) and strong agreement for intratumoral TILs (ICC = 0.71). Significant variability was attributed to three main confounding variables: heterogeneous TIL distribution, poorly-defined tumor-stroma interface and focal dense lymphoid infiltrates. Conclusions: These findings underscore the critical need for standardized TILs assessment criteria advocating for the adoption of AI-based scoring method to overcome interobserver variability and enhance the reproducibility of eval-uations.