Browse publications by year: 2014

  1. MicroRNAs: biogenesis, roles for carcinogenesis and as potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis
    Kavitha N, Vijayarathna S, Jothy SL, Oon CE, Chen Y, Kanwar JR, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(18):7489-97.
    PMID: 25292018
    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs of 20-24 nucleotides that play important roles in carcinogenesis. Accordingly, miRNAs control numerous cancer-relevant biological events such as cell proliferation, cell cycle control, metabolism and apoptosis. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge and concepts concerning the biogenesis of miRNAs, miRNA roles in cancer and their potential as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis including the regulation of key cancer-related pathways, such as cell cycle control and miRNA dysregulation. Moreover, microRNA molecules are already receiving the attention of world researchers as therapeutic targets and agents. Therefore, in-depth knowledge of microRNAs has the potential not only to identify their roles in cancer, but also to exploit them as potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and identify therapeutic targets for new drug discovery.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/pathology*; Humans; Neoplasms/diagnosis; Neoplasms/genetics*; Neoplasms/therapy; Prognosis; Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics*; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*; MicroRNAs/genetics*
  2. Fulltext Psychological problems and psychosocial predictors of cigarette smoking behavior among undergraduate students in Malaysia
    Saravanan C, Heidhy I
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(18):7629-34.
    PMID: 25292039
    BACKGROUND: Cigarette smokers have their own motivation and justification to smoke. For example, smoking reduces their stress or enhances their pleasure. This study aimed to identify the (a) prevalence of cigarette smokers among undergraduates in Malaysia, (b) gender differences in nicotine dependence among current smokers, (c) differences in psychological problems (depression, anxiety and stress) based on the status of smoking cigarettes (current, former and non-smokers) and (d) extent to which precipitating factors (tension reduction, addiction, automatism, handling, social interaction, pleasure, and stimulation) predict the smoking behavior among current smokers.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study 780 undergraduate students participated from a private university in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor state in Malaysia. The Depression, Stress and Anxiety Scale, Modified Reason for Smoking Scale and Fagerstrom Nicotine Dependence Test were used to measure psychological problems, predictors of smoking behavior and nicotine dependency among current smokers.

    RESULTS: The results showed that 14.7%(n=106) of the students were smokers. Current smokers exhibited more psychological problems (depression, anxiety and stress) compared to former and non-smokers. Addiction, tension reduction, pleasure and automatism were predictors of smoking behavior among the current smoking students. Step wise regression analysis showed that smoking behavior was highly predicted by nicotine dependency or addiction. Smoking students were motivated to smoke cigarettes as they believed that it reduced their tension and enhance pleasure.

    CONCLUSIONS: Hence, there is a need for health promotion and anti-tobacco prevention as cigarette smokers experience more psychological problems. Nicotine dependency or addition was one of the major causes for smoking behavior among the student population in Malaysia.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Anxiety/diagnosis*; Anxiety/etiology; Anxiety/psychology; Depression/diagnosis*; Depression/etiology; Depression/psychology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Prognosis; Smoking/adverse effects; Smoking/epidemiology*; Smoking/psychology*; Stress, Psychological/diagnosis*; Stress, Psychological/etiology; Stress, Psychological/psychology; Students/psychology*; Tobacco Use Disorder/psychology; Prevalence; Smoking Cessation/psychology; Young Adult
  3. Hepatitis C virus prevalence and genotyping among hepatocellular carcinoma patients in Baghdad
    Al-Kubaisy WA, Obaid KJ, Noor NA, Ibrahim NS, Al-Azawi AA
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(18):7725-30.
    PMID: 25292053
    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause for cancer death in the world, now being especially linked to chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This case-control study consisting of 65 HCC patients and 82 patients with other malignant tumours as controls was conducted to determine the association of HCV markers with HCC. Serum of each participant was obtained for detection of HCV Ab and RNA by DNA enzyme immunoassay (DEIA). Twenty six per cent (26.0%) of HCC patients had positive anti-HCV which was significantly greater than the control group (p=0.001). HCC patients significantly have a risk of exposure to HCV infection almost 3 times than the control group (OR=2.87, 95% C.I=1.1-7). Anti-HCV seropositive rate was significantly (p=0.03) higher among old age HCC patients and increases with age. Males with HCC significantly showed to have more than 9 times risk of exposure to HCV infection (OR=9.375, 95 % CI=1.299-67.647) than females. HCV-RNA seropositive rate was (70.8%) significantly higher among HCC patients compared to (22.2%) the control group (p=0.019). The most prevalent genotype (as a single or mixed pattern of infection) was HCV- 1b. This study detected a significantly higher HCV seropositive rate of antibodies and RNA in HCC patients.
    MeSH terms: Aged; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Genotype; Hepatitis C/immunology; Hepatitis C/epidemiology*; Hepatitis C/virology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/epidemiology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/virology*; Humans; Iraq/epidemiology; Liver Neoplasms/genetics; Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology; Liver Neoplasms/virology*; Male; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Risk Factors; RNA, Viral/genetics*; Prevalence; Case-Control Studies; Hepacivirus/genetics*; Hepacivirus/immunology; Hepacivirus/isolation & purification
  4. Fulltext Presentation of retinoblastoma patients in Malaysia
    Subramaniam S, Rahmat J, Rahman NA, Ramasamy S, Bhoo-Pathy N, Pin GP, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(18):7863-7.
    PMID: 25292078
    BACKGROUND: Retinoblastoma is a rare type of cancer that usually develops in early childhood. If left untreated it can cause blindness and even death. The aim of this study is to determine sociodemographic and clinical features of retinoblastoma patients and also to determine the treatment pattern and outcome in Malaysia.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data for this study were retrieved from the Retinoblastoma Registry of the National Eye Database (NED) in Malaysia. Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Hospital Umum Kuching, Sarawak and Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Kota Kinabalu were the major source data providers for this study. Data collected in the registry cover demography, clinical presentation, modes of treatment, outcomes and complications.

    RESULTS: The study group consisted of 119 patients (162 eyes) diagnosed with retinoblastoma between 2004 and 2012. There were 68 male (57.1%) and 51 (42.9%) female. The median age at presentation was 22 months. A majority of patients were Malays (54.6%), followed by Chinese (18, 5%), Indians (8.4%), and indigenous races (15.9%). Seventy six (63.8%) patients had unilateral involvement whereas 43 patients had bilateral disease (36.1%). It was found that most children presented with leukocoria (110 patients), followed by strabismus (19), and protopsis (12). Among the 76 with unilateral involvement (76 eyes), enucleation was performed for a majority (79%). More than half of these patients had extraocular extension. Of the 40 who received chemotherapy, 95% were given drugs systemically. Furthermore, in 43 patients with bilateral involvement (86 eyes), 35 (41%) eyes were enucleated and 17 (49%) showed extraocular extension. Seventy-two percent of these patients received systemic chemotherapy. The patients were followed up 1 year after diagnosis, whereby 66 were found to be alive and 4 dead. Sixteen patients defaulted treatment and were lost to follow-up, whereas follow-up data were not available in 33 patients.

    CONCLUSIONS: Patients with retinoblastoma in this middle-income Asian setting are presenting at late stages. As a result, a high proportion of patients warrant aggressive management such as enucleation. We also showed that a high number of patients default follow-up. Therefore, reduction in refusal or delay to initial treatment, and follow-up should be emphasized in order to improve the survival rates of retinoblastoma in this part of the world.
    MeSH terms: Child; Child, Preschool; Combined Modality Therapy; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Infant; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Retinoblastoma/mortality; Retinoblastoma/epidemiology*; Retinoblastoma/pathology*; Retinoblastoma/therapy; Survival Rate; Retinal Neoplasms/mortality; Retinal Neoplasms/epidemiology*; Retinal Neoplasms/pathology*; Retinal Neoplasms/therapy
  5. Do clinical features and survival of single hormone receptor positive breast cancers differ from double hormone receptor positive breast cancers?
    Ng CH, Pathy NB, Taib NA, Ho GF, Mun KS, Rhodes A, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(18):7959-64.
    PMID: 25292095
    The significance of the single hormone receptor positive phenotype of breast cancer is still poorly understood. The use of hormone therapy has been found to be less effective for this type, which has a survival outcome midway between double positive and double negative phenotypes. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in patient and tumor characteristics and survival between double-receptor positive (ER+PR+), double receptor negative (ER-PR-) and single receptor positive (ER+PR- and ER-PR+) breast cancer in an Asian setting. A total of 1,992 patients with newly diagnosed stage I to IV breast cancer between 2003 and 2008, and where information on ER and PR were available, were included in this study. The majority of patients had ER+PR+ tumors (n=903: 45.3%), followed by 741 (37.2%) ER-PR-, 247 (12.4%) ER+PR-, and 101 (5.1%) ER-PR+ tumors. Using multivariate analysis, ER+PR- tumors were 2.4 times more likely to be grade 3 compared to ER+PR+ tumors. ER+PR- and ER-PR+ tumors were 82% and 86% respectively less likely to be grade 3 compared with ER-PR- tumors. ER-PR+ tumours were associated with younger age. There were no survival differences between patients with ER+PR+ and ER-PR+ tumors. However, ER+PR- tumors have poorer survival compared with ER+PR+ tumours. ER-PR- tumours had the worst survival. Adjuvant hormonal therapy with tamoxifen was found to have identical survival advantage in patients with ER+PR+ and ER-PR+ tumors whereas impact was slightly lower in patients with ER+PR- tumors. In conclusion, we found ER+PR- tumors to be more aggressive and have poorer survival when compared to ER+PR+ tumors, while patients with ER-PR+ tumours were younger, but had a similar survival to their counterparts with ER+PR+ tumours.
    MeSH terms: Breast Neoplasms/metabolism; Breast Neoplasms/mortality*; Breast Neoplasms/pathology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Lymphatic Metastasis; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Staging; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Receptors, Estrogen/metabolism*; Receptors, Progesterone/metabolism*; Survival Rate; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/metabolism; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/mortality*; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/secondary; Carcinoma, Lobular/metabolism; Carcinoma, Lobular/mortality*; Carcinoma, Lobular/secondary; Neoplasm Grading
  6. Fulltext Phenolic composition, antioxidant, anti-wrinkles and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of cocoa pod extract
    Karim AA, Azlan A, Ismail A, Hashim P, Abd Gani SS, Zainudin BH, et al.
    BMC Complement Altern Med, 2014 Oct 07;14:381.
    PMID: 25292439 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-381
    BACKGROUND: Cocoa pod is an outer part of cocoa fruits being discarded during cocoa bean processing. Authors found out that data on its usage in literature as cosmetic materials was not recorded in vast. In this study, cocoa pod extract was investigated for its potential as a cosmetic ingredient.

    METHODS: Cocoa pod extract (CPE) composition was accomplished using UHPLC. The antioxidant capacity were measured using scavenging assay of 1,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), β-carotene bleaching assay (BCB) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Inhibiting effect on skin degradation enzymes was carried out using elastase and collagenase assays. The skin whitening effect of CPE was determined based on mushroom tyrosinase assay and sun screening effect (UV-absorbance at 200-400 nm wavelength).

    RESULTS: LC-MS/MS data showed the presence of carboxylic acid, phenolic acid, fatty acid, flavonoids (flavonol and flavones), stilbenoids and terpenoids in CPE. Results for antioxidant activity exhibited that CPE possessed good antioxidant activity, based on the mechanism of the assays compared with ascorbic acid (AA) and standardized pine bark extract (PBE); DPPH: AA > CPE > PBE; FRAP: PBE > CPE > AA; and BCB: BHT > CPE > PBE. Cocoa pod extract showed better action against elastase and collagenase enzymes in comparison with PBE and AA. Higher inhibition towards tyrosinase enzyme was exhibited by CPE than kojic acid and AA, although lower than PBE. CPE induced proliferation when tested on human fibroblast cell at low concentration. CPE also exhibited a potential as UVB sunscreen despite its low performance as a UVA sunscreen agent.

    CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, the CPE has high potential as a cosmetic ingredient due to its anti-wrinkle, skin whitening, and sunscreen effects.

    MeSH terms: Antioxidants/pharmacology*; Antioxidants/chemistry; Biphenyl Compounds/chemistry; Cacao/chemistry*; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Enzyme Inhibitors/analysis; Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology; Enzyme Inhibitors/chemistry; Fibroblasts; Humans; Phenols/analysis; Phenols/pharmacology; Phenols/chemistry*; Picrates/chemistry; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*; Plant Extracts/chemistry; Seeds/chemistry; Skin/cytology; Sunscreening Agents/analysis; Sunscreening Agents/pharmacology; Sunscreening Agents/chemistry; Monophenol Monooxygenase/antagonists & inhibitors*; Skin Aging/drug effects*; Skin Lightening Preparations/analysis; Skin Lightening Preparations/pharmacology; Skin Lightening Preparations/chemistry
  7. Fulltext IgA rheumatoid factor as a serological predictor of poor response to tumour necrosis factor α inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis
    Sakthiswary R, Shaharir SS, Mohd Said MS, Asrul AW, Shahril NS
    Int J Rheum Dis, 2014 Nov;17(8):872-7.
    PMID: 25292482 DOI: 10.1111/1756-185X.12443
    AIM: The main objective of this study is to elucidate the role of immunoglobulin A (IgA) rheumatoid factor (RF) in predicting the clinical response to tumour necrosis factor α inhibitors (TNFi) among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
    METHOD: We recruited all patients with RA who were ever on TNFi for a minimum duration of 3 months at our centre. Based on the European League Against Rheumatism response criteria, subjects were further divided into responders and non-responders. Age-matched RA patients who were on conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and in remission were enrolled as controls. Subjects were tested for quantitative values of IgA, IgM, IgG RF and anti-citrulinated cyclic peptides (CCP). Further, all subjects were assessed for the disease activity score that includes 28 joints (DAS28) and Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) 8-item Disability Index (HAQ-DI).
    RESULTS: A total of 31 subjects with RA who had received TNFi and 15 controls were enrolled in this study. There was a trend for the non-responders (n = 10) to have higher levels of all isotypes of RF and anti-CCP. However, only the IgA RF and anti-CCP levels were significantly higher in the non-responder group compared to the responders and controls (P = 0.001, P = 0.034, respectively). On multivariate analysis, only the IgA RF remained significant (OR 0.989; 95% CI 0.980-0.999; P = 0.026).
    CONCLUSION: IgA RF is potentially a novel predictor of response to TNFi in RA patients. Testing for pretreatment IgA RF levels could be a reasonable consideration before commencement of TNFi.
    Study site: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    MeSH terms: Etanercept; Adalimumab; Infliximab; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy*; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/immunology; Female; Hospitals, University; Humans; Immunoglobulin A/blood*; Immunoglobulin G/therapeutic use; Immunologic Factors/immunology; Immunologic Factors/therapeutic use*; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Rheumatoid Factor/immunology; Rheumatoid Factor/therapeutic use*; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/antagonists & inhibitors*; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor/therapeutic use; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use
  8. Fulltext Therapeutic radionuclides in nuclear medicine: current and future prospects
    Yeong CH, Cheng MH, Ng KH
    J Zhejiang Univ Sci B, 2014 Oct;15(10):845-63.
    PMID: 25294374 DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1400131
    The potential use of radionuclides in therapy has been recognized for many decades. A number of radionuclides, such as iodine-131 ((131)I), phosphorous-32 ((32)P), strontium-90 ((90)Sr), and yttrium-90 ((90)Y), have been used successfully for the treatment of many benign and malignant disorders. Recently, the rapid growth of this branch of nuclear medicine has been stimulated by the introduction of a number of new radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of metastatic bone pain and neuroendocrine and other malignant or non-malignant tumours. Today, the field of radionuclide therapy is enjoying an exciting phase and is poised for greater growth and development in the coming years. For example, in Asia, the high prevalence of thyroid and liver diseases has prompted many novel developments and clinical trials using targeted radionuclide therapy. This paper reviews the characteristics and clinical applications of the commonly available therapeutic radionuclides, as well as the problems and issues involved in translating novel radionuclides into clinical therapies.
    MeSH terms: Forecasting; Humans; Isotope Labeling/trends; Neoplasms/radiotherapy*; Nuclear Medicine/trends*; Radioisotopes/therapeutic use*; Radioisotopes/chemistry*; Radiotherapy/trends*; Radiopharmaceuticals/chemical synthesis; Radiopharmaceuticals/therapeutic use; Molecular Targeted Therapy/trends*
  9. Fulltext Genetic transformation of Metroxylon sagu (Rottb.) cultures via Agrobacterium-mediated and particle bombardment
    Ibrahim ER, Hossain MA, Roslan HA
    Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:348140.
    PMID: 25295258 DOI: 10.1155/2014/348140
    Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) is a perennial plant native to Southeast Asia and exploited mainly for the starch content in its trunk. Genetic improvement of sago palm is extremely slow when compared to other annual starch crops. Urgent attention is needed to improve the sago palm planting material and can be achieved through nonconventional methods. We have previously developed a tissue culture method for sago palm, which is used to provide the planting materials and to develop a genetic transformation procedure. Here, we report the genetic transformation of sago embryonic callus derived from suspension culture using Agrobacterium tumefaciens and gene gun systems. The transformed embryoids cells were selected against Basta (concentration 10 to 30 mg/L). Evidence of foreign genes integration and function of the bar and gus genes were verified via gene specific PCR amplification, gus staining, and dot blot analysis. This study showed that the embryogenic callus was the most suitable material for transformation as compared to the fine callus, embryoid stage, and initiated shoots. The gene gun transformation showed higher transformation efficiency than the ones transformed using Agrobacterium when targets were bombarded once or twice using 280 psi of helium pressure at 6 to 8 cm distance.
    MeSH terms: Bony Callus/embryology; Bony Callus/growth & development; Gold/chemistry; Helium; Pressure; Starch/biosynthesis; Transformation, Genetic*; Arecaceae/genetics*; Arecaceae/growth & development; Plants, Genetically Modified/genetics*; Agrobacterium/genetics
  10. Fulltext Synthesis of silver nanoparticles dispersed in various aqueous media using laser ablation
    Tajdidzadeh M, Azmi BZ, Yunus WM, Talib ZA, Sadrolhosseini AR, Karimzadeh K, et al.
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:324921.
    PMID: 25295298 DOI: 10.1155/2014/324921
    The particle size, morphology, and stability of Ag-NPs were investigated in the present study. A Q-Switched Nd: YAG pulsed laser (λ = 532 nm, 360 mJ/pulse) was used for ablation of a pure Ag plate for 30 min to prepare Ag-NPs in the organic compound such as ethylene glycol (EG) and biopolymer such as chitosan. The media (EG, chitosan) permitted the making of NPs with well dispersed and average size of Ag-NPs in EG is about 22 nm and in chitosan is about 10 nm in spherical form. Particle size, morphology, and stability of NPs were compared with distilled water as a reference. The stability of the samples was studied by measuring UV-visible absorption spectra of samples after one month. The result indicated that the formation efficiency of NPs in chitosan was higher than other media and NPs in chitosan solution were more stable than other media during one month storage. This method for synthesis of silver NPs could be as a green method due to its environmentally friendly nature.
    MeSH terms: Particle Size; Silver/chemistry*; Solutions; Water/chemistry*; Laser Therapy/methods*; Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry*; Green Chemistry Technology/methods*
  11. Fulltext Improving RLRN image splicing detection with the Use of PCA and kernel PCA
    Moghaddasi Z, Jalab HA, Md Noor R, Aghabozorgi S
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:606570.
    PMID: 25295304 DOI: 10.1155/2014/606570
    Digital image forgery is becoming easier to perform because of the rapid development of various manipulation tools. Image splicing is one of the most prevalent techniques. Digital images had lost their trustability, and researches have exerted considerable effort to regain such trustability by focusing mostly on algorithms. However, most of the proposed algorithms are incapable of handling high dimensionality and redundancy in the extracted features. Moreover, existing algorithms are limited by high computational time. This study focuses on improving one of the image splicing detection algorithms, that is, the run length run number algorithm (RLRN), by applying two dimension reduction methods, namely, principal component analysis (PCA) and kernel PCA. Support vector machine is used to distinguish between authentic and spliced images. Results show that kernel PCA is a nonlinear dimension reduction method that has the best effect on R, G, B, and Y channels and gray-scale images.
    MeSH terms: Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Pattern Recognition, Automated/methods*; Pattern Recognition, Automated/trends; Photography/methods*; Photography/trends; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted*; Principal Component Analysis/methods*
  12. Fulltext A new sensors-based covert channel on android
    Al-Haiqi A, Ismail M, Nordin R
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:969628.
    PMID: 25295311 DOI: 10.1155/2014/969628
    Covert channels are not new in computing systems, and have been studied since their first definition four decades ago. New platforms invoke thorough investigations to assess their security. Now is the time for Android platform to analyze its security model, in particular the two key principles: process-isolation and the permissions system. Aside from all sorts of malware, one threat proved intractable by current protection solutions, that is, collusion attacks involving two applications communicating over covert channels. Still no universal solution can countermeasure this sort of attack unless the covert channels are known. This paper is an attempt to reveal a new covert channel, not only being specific to smartphones, but also exploiting an unusual resource as a vehicle to carry covert information: sensors data. Accelerometers generate signals that reflect user motions, and malware applications can apparently only read their data. However, if the vibration motor on the device is used properly, programmatically produced vibration patterns can encode stolen data and hence an application can cause discernible effects on acceleration data to be received and decoded by another application. Our evaluations confirmed a real threat where strings of tens of characters could be transmitted errorless if the throughput is reduced to around 2.5-5 bps. The proposed covert channel is very stealthy as no unusual permissions are required and there is no explicit communication between the colluding applications.
    MeSH terms: Computer Communication Networks/trends*; Computer Systems/trends; Cell Phones/trends*; Accelerometry/methods; Accelerometry/trends*; Mobile Applications/trends*
  13. Fulltext Evaluation of antinociceptive effect of methanolic leaf and root extracts of Clitoria ternatea Linn. in rats
    Kamilla L, Ramanathan S, Sasidharan S, Mansor SM
    Indian J Pharmacol, 2014 Sep-Oct;46(5):515-20.
    PMID: 25298581 DOI: 10.4103/0253-7613.140583
    Clitoria ternatea Linn. (C. ternatea) is an Ayurvedic herb traditionally used as medicine to relieve inflammatory, rheumatism, ear diseases, fever, arthritis, eye ailments, sore throat and body ache. This study aims to evaluate and elucidate the possible mechanism underlying the antinociceptive action of methanolic extracts of C. ternatea leaf and root using several antinociception models.
    MeSH terms: Methanol/chemistry; Analgesics/isolation & purification; Analgesics/pharmacology*; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Male; Naloxone/pharmacology; Narcotic Antagonists/pharmacology; Pain/drug therapy*; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Plant Leaves; Plant Roots; Clitoria/chemistry*; Rats
  14. Fulltext High performance liquid chromatography profiling of health-promoting phytochemicals and evaluation of antioxidant, anti-lipoxygenase, iron chelating and anti-glucosidase activities of wetland macrophytes
    Ooh KF, Ong HC, Wong FC, Sit NW, Chai TT
    Pharmacogn Mag, 2014 Aug;10(Suppl 3):S443-55.
    PMID: 25298659 DOI: 10.4103/0973-1296.139767
    The phytochemistry and bioactivity of wetland macrophytes are underexplored. Plants are known as the natural sources of phytochemical beneficial to health.
  15. Fulltext Strophanthus hispidus attenuates the Ischemia-Reperfusion induced myocardial Infarction and reduces mean arterial pressure in renal artery occlusion
    Gundamaraju R, Vemuri RC, Singla RK, Manikam R, Rao AR, Sekaran SD
    Pharmacogn Mag, 2014 Aug;10(Suppl 3):S557-62.
    PMID: 25298674 DOI: 10.4103/0973-1296.139782
    The myocardium is generally injured in the case of reperfusion injury and arterial damage is caused by hypertension. In reference to these statements, the present study was focused. Cardiac glycosides were said to have protective effects against myocardial infarction and hypertension. Strophanthus hispidus was thus incorporated in the study.
  16. Fulltext Identification of natural inhibitors against angiotensin I converting enzyme for cardiac safety using induced fit docking and MM-GBSA studies
    Vijayakumar B, Parasuraman S, Raveendran R, Velmurugan D
    Pharmacogn Mag, 2014 Aug;10(Suppl 3):S639-44.
    PMID: 25298685 DOI: 10.4103/0973-1296.139809
    Cleistanthins A and B are isolated compounds from the leaves of Cleistanthus collinus Roxb (Euphorbiaceae). This plant is poisonous in nature which causes cardiovascular abnormalities such as hypotension, nonspecific ST-T changes and QTc prolongation. The biological activity predictions spectra of the compounds show the presence of antihypertensive, diuretic and antitumor activities.
  17. Fulltext Novel modulation method for multidirectional matrix converter
    Toosi S, Misron N, Hanamoto T, Bin Aris I, Radzi MA, Yamada H
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:645734.
    PMID: 25298969 DOI: 10.1155/2014/645734
    This study presents a new modulation method for multidirectional matrix converter (MDMC), based on the direct duty ratio pulse width modulation (DDPWM). In this study, a new structure of MDMC has been proposed to control the power flow direction through the stand-alone battery based system and hybrid vehicle. The modulation method acts based on the average voltage over one switching period concept. Therefore, in order to determine the duty ratio for each switch, the instantaneous input voltages are captured and compared with triangular waveform continuously. By selecting the proper switching pattern and changing the slope of the carriers, the sinusoidal input current can be synthesized with high power factor and desired output voltage. The proposed system increases the discharging time of the battery by injecting the power to the system from the generator and battery at the same time. Thus, it makes the battery life longer and saves more energy. This paper also derived necessary equation for proposed modulation method as well as detail of analysis and modulation algorithm. The theoretical and modulation concepts presented have been verified in MATLAB simulation.
    MeSH terms: Algorithms*; Computer Simulation; Electricity*; Equipment Design; Humans; Models, Theoretical*; Electric Power Supplies/standards*; Reproducibility of Results
  18. Fulltext Biocompatibility and toxicity of poly(vinyl alcohol)/N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan scaffold
    Kamarul T, Krishnamurithy G, Salih ND, Ibrahim NS, Raghavendran HR, Suhaeb AR, et al.
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:905103.
    PMID: 25298970 DOI: 10.1155/2014/905103
    The in vivo biocompatibility and toxicity of PVA/NOCC scaffold were tested by comparing them with those of a biocompatible inert material HAM in a rat model. On Day 5, changes in the blood parameters of the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats were significantly higher than those of the control. The levels of potassium, creatinine, total protein, A/G, hemoglobulin, erythrocytes, WBC, and platelets were not significantly altered in the HAM-implanted rats, when compared with those in the control. On Day 10, an increase in potassium, urea, and GGT levels and a decrease in ALP, platelet, and eosinophil levels were noted in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, when compared with control. These changes were almost similar to those noted in the HAM-implanted rats, except for the unaltered potassium and increased neutrophil levels. On Day 15, the total protein, A/G, lymphocyte, monocyte, and eosinophil levels remained unaltered in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, whereas urea, A/G, WBC, lymphocyte, and monocyte levels remained unchanged in the HAM-implanted rats. Histology and immunohistochemistry analyses revealed inflammatory infiltration in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, but not in the HAM-implanted rats. Although a low toxic tissue response was observed in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, further studies are necessary to justify the use of this material in tissue engineering applications.
    MeSH terms: Alkaline Phosphatase/blood; Amnion/metabolism; Animals; Biocompatible Materials/pharmacology; Biocompatible Materials/chemistry*; Blood Cell Count; Female; gamma-Glutamyltransferase/blood; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Polyvinyl Alcohol/chemistry*; Potassium/blood; Skin/drug effects; Skin/metabolism; Time Factors; Transplantation, Heterologous; Urea/blood; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic/metabolism; Antigens, CD/metabolism; Skin Transplantation/methods; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Implants, Experimental; Hydrogels; Tissue Engineering/methods*; Subcutaneous Tissue/drug effects; Subcutaneous Tissue/metabolism; Subcutaneous Tissue/surgery; Chitosan/chemistry*; Tissue Scaffolds/chemistry*
  19. Fulltext Adaptive cuckoo search algorithm for unconstrained optimization
    Ong P
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:943403.
    PMID: 25298971 DOI: 10.1155/2014/943403
    Modification of the intensification and diversification approaches in the recently developed cuckoo search algorithm (CSA) is performed. The alteration involves the implementation of adaptive step size adjustment strategy, and thus enabling faster convergence to the global optimal solutions. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm is validated against benchmark optimization functions, where the obtained results demonstrate a marked improvement over the standard CSA, in all the cases.
    MeSH terms: Algorithms*; Computer Simulation*; Models, Theoretical*; Pattern Recognition, Automated/methods*; Reproducibility of Results
  20. Fulltext Is there a cryptic species of the golden snapper (Lutjanus johnii)?
    Adibah AB, Darlina MN
    Genet. Mol. Res., 2014;13(4):8094-104.
    PMID: 25299194 DOI: 10.4238/2014.October.7.4
    For centuries, morphology-based fish identification has been applied without molecular evaluation. Many studies showed that specimens with a similar morphology are frequently found to be quite genetically distinct. One of the fish species that still remains taxonomically problematic is a commercial snapper species, Lutjanus johnii. Because of morphological ambiguities among local fish taxonomists in Malaysia, we examined the ability of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene to genetically examine the taxonomic status of L. johnii. A 626-base pair COI region was successfully amplified and aligned with conspecific sequences that were retrieved from GenBank. The phylogenetic tree obtained showed two major clusters; the first cluster consists of L. johnii from Straits of Malacca, Thailand, Australia, and China while the second cluster comprises L. johnii from China and India. The latter group showed sequence divergence greater than 3.5%. After observing this, we suspected that there might be a cryptic species between the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. This is the first molecular report concerning the commercial species of snapper, L. johnii, in Malaysia, which had only gained provisional recognition from morphological examination.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics; Fishes/classification; Fishes/genetics*; Geography; Haplotypes; Phylogeny; Genetic Variation
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