Browse publications by year: 2016

  1. Fulltext Satkara (Citrus macroptera) Fruit Protects against Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatorenal Toxicity in Rats
    Paul S, Islam MA, Tanvir EM, Ahmed R, Das S, Rumpa NE, et al.
    Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2016;2016:9470954.
    PMID: 27034701 DOI: 10.1155/2016/9470954
    Although Citrus macroptera (Rutaceae), an indigenous fruit in Bangladesh, has long been used in folk medicine, however, there is a lack of information concerning its protective effects against oxidative damage. The protective effects of an ethanol extract of Citrus macroptera (EECM) against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity were investigated in rats. Rats (treatment groups) were pretreated with EECM at doses of 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg, respectively, orally for 30 days followed by acetaminophen administration. Silymarin (100 mg/kg) was administered as a standard drug over a similar treatment period. Our findings indicated that oral administration of acetaminophen induced severe hepatic and renal injuries associated with oxidative stress, as observed by 2-fold higher lipid peroxidation (TBARS) compared to control. Pretreatment with EECM prior to acetaminophen administration significantly improved all investigated biochemical parameters, that is, transaminase activities, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, γ-glutamyl transferase activities and total bilirubin, total cholesterol, triglyceride and creatinine, urea, uric acid, sodium, potassium and chloride ions, and TBARS levels. These findings were confirmed by histopathological examinations. The improvement was prominent in the group that received 1000 mg/kg EECM. These findings suggested that C. macroptera fruit could protect against acetaminophen-induced hepatonephrotoxicity, which might be via the inhibition of lipid peroxidation.
    MeSH terms: Acetaminophen; Ethanol; Alkaline Phosphatase; Animals; Bilirubin; Citrus; Creatinine; Fruit; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Potassium; Silymarin; Sodium; Uric Acid; Lipid Peroxidation; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; Rutaceae; Rats
  2. Fulltext Spatiotemporal Expression and Molecular Characterization of miR-344b and miR-344c in the Developing Mouse Brain
    Leong JW, Abdullah S, Ling KH, Cheah PS
    Neural Plast, 2016;2016:1951250.
    PMID: 27034842 DOI: 10.1155/2016/1951250
    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA known to regulate brain development. The expression of two novel miRNAs, namely, miR-344b and miR-344c, was characterized during mouse brain developmental stages in this study. In situ hybridization analysis showed that miR-344b and miR-344c were expressed in the germinal layer during embryonic brain developmental stages. In contrast, miR-344b was not detectable in the adult brain while miR-344c was expressed exclusively in the adult olfactory bulb and cerebellar granular layer. Stem-loop RT-qPCR analysis of whole brain RNAs showed that expression of the miR-344b and miR-344c was increased as brain developed throughout the embryonic stage and maintained at adulthood. Further investigation showed that these miRNAs were expressed in adult organs, where miR-344b and miR-344c were highly expressed in pancreas and brain, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis suggested miR-344b and miR-344c targeted Olig2 and Otx2 mRNAs, respectively. However, luciferase experiments demonstrated that these miRNAs did not target Olig2 and Otx2 mRNAs. Further investigation on the locality of miR-344b and miR-344c showed that both miRNAs were localized in nuclei of immature neurons. In conclusion, miR-344b and miR-344c were expressed spatiotemporally during mouse brain developmental stages.
  3. Fulltext Photovoltaic Grid-Connected Modeling and Characterization Based on Experimental Results
    Humada AM, Hojabri M, Sulaiman MH, Hamada HM, Ahmed MN
    PLoS One, 2016;11(4):e0152766.
    PMID: 27035575 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152766
    A grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system operates under fluctuated weather condition has been modeled and characterized based on specific test bed. A mathematical model of a small-scale PV system has been developed mainly for residential usage, and the potential results have been simulated. The proposed PV model based on three PV parameters, which are the photocurrent, IL, the reverse diode saturation current, Io, the ideality factor of diode, n. Accuracy of the proposed model and its parameters evaluated based on different benchmarks. The results showed that the proposed model fitting the experimental results with high accuracy compare to the other models, as well as the I-V characteristic curve. The results of this study can be considered valuable in terms of the installation of a grid-connected PV system in fluctuated climatic conditions.
    MeSH terms: Computer Systems; Models, Theoretical; Weather; Benchmarking; Physical Phenomena
  4. Knockdown of ROS1 gene sensitizes breast tumor growth to doxorubicin in a syngeneic mouse model
    Tiash S, Chua MJ, Chowdhury EH
    Int J Oncol, 2016 Jun;48(6):2359-66.
    PMID: 27035628 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2016.3452
    Treatment of breast cancer, the second leading cause of female deaths worldwide, with classical drugs is often accompanied by treatment failure and relapse of disease condition. Development of chemoresistance and drug toxicity compels compromising the drug concentration below the threshold level with the consequence of therapeutic inefficacy. Moreover, amplification and over-activation of proto-oncogenes in tumor cells make the treatment more challenging. The oncogene, ROS1 which is highly expressed in diverse types of cancers including breast carcinoma, functions as a survival protein aiding cancer progression. Thus we speculated that selective silencing of ROS1 gene by carrier-mediated delivery of siRNA might sensitize the cancer cells to the classical drugs at a relatively low concentration. In this investigation we showed that intracellular delivery of c-ROS1-targeting siRNA using pH-sensitive inorganic nanoparticles of carbonate apatite sensitizes mouse breast cancer cells (4T1) to doxorubicin, but not to cisplatin or paclitaxel, with the highest enhancement in chemosensitivity obtained at 40 nM of the drug concentration. Although intravenous administrations of ROS1-loaded nanoparticles reduced growth of the tumor, a further substantial effect on growth retardation was noted when the mice were treated with the siRNA- and Dox-bound particles, thus suggesting that silencing of ROS1 gene could sensitize the mouse breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo to doxorubicin as a result of synergistic effect of the gene knockdown and the drug action, eventually preventing activation of the survival pathway protein, AKT1. Our findings therefore provide valuable insight into the potential cross-talk between the pathways of ROS1 and doxorubicin for future development of effective therapeutics for breast cancer.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Apatites/administration & dosage; Cisplatin/pharmacology; Doxorubicin/pharmacology*; Drug Synergism; Female; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/drug therapy; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/genetics; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/therapy*; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Proto-Oncogene Proteins/genetics*; Random Allocation; Paclitaxel/pharmacology; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/genetics*; RNA, Small Interfering/administration & dosage*; RNA, Small Interfering/genetics; Cell Line, Tumor; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism; Mice; Gene Knockdown Techniques
  5. Fulltext Comparative Genomic Analysis Reveals a Possible Novel Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterium Species with High Pathogenic Potential
    Choo SW, Dutta A, Wong GJ, Wee WY, Ang MY, Siow CC
    PLoS One, 2016;11(4):e0150413.
    PMID: 27035710 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150413
    Mycobacteria have been reported to cause a wide range of human diseases. We present the first whole-genome study of a Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterium, Mycobacterium sp. UM_CSW (referred to hereafter as UM_CSW), isolated from a patient diagnosed with bronchiectasis. Our data suggest that this clinical isolate is likely a novel mycobacterial species, supported by clear evidence from molecular phylogenetic, comparative genomic, ANI and AAI analyses. UM_CSW is closely related to the Mycobacterium avium complex. While it has characteristic features of an environmental bacterium, it also shows a high pathogenic potential with the presence of a wide variety of putative genes related to bacterial virulence and shares very similar pathogenomic profiles with the known pathogenic mycobacterial species. Thus, we conclude that this possible novel Mycobacterium species should be tightly monitored for its possible causative role in human infections.
    MeSH terms: Bacterial Proteins/genetics; Bronchiectasis/diagnosis; Bronchiectasis/microbiology*; Humans; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/diagnosis; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology*; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria/genetics*; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria/isolation & purification*; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria/pathogenicity; Phylogeny; Genome, Bacterial*; Genomics; Virulence Factors/genetics; Comparative Genomic Hybridization
  6. Fulltext Bleeding Efficiency, Microbiological Quality and Oxidative Stability of Meat from Goats Subjected to Slaughter without Stunning in Comparison with Different Methods of Pre-Slaughter Electrical Stunning
    Sabow AB, Zulkifli I, Goh YM, Ab Kadir MZ, Kaka U, Imlan JC, et al.
    PLoS One, 2016;11(4):e0152661.
    PMID: 27035716 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152661
    The influence of pre-slaughter electrical stunning techniques and slaughter without stunning on bleeding efficiency and shelf life of chevon during a 14 d postmortem aging were assessed. Thirty two Boer crossbred bucks were randomly assigned to four slaughtering techniques viz slaughter without stunning (SWS), low frequency head-only electrical stunning (LFHO; 1 A for 3 s at a frequency of 50 Hz), low frequency head-to-back electrical stunning (LFHB; 1 A for 3 s at a frequency of 50 Hz) and high frequency head-to-back electrical stunning (HFHB; 1 A for 3 s at a frequency of 850 Hz). The SWS, LFHO and HFHB goats had higher (p<0.05) blood loss and lower residual hemoglobin in muscle compared to LFHB. The LFHB meat had higher (p<0.05) TBARS value than other treatments on d 7 and 14 d postmortem. Slaughtering methods had no effect on protein oxidation. Higher bacterial counts were observed in LFHB meat compared to those from SWS, LFHO and HFHB after 3 d postmortem. Results indicate that the low bleed-out in LFHB lowered the lipid oxidative stability and microbiological quality of chevon during aging.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Goats; Meat Products/microbiology*; Oxidation-Reduction; Colony Count, Microbial
  7. Complexity in congestive heart failure: A time-frequency approach
    Banerjee S, Palit SK, Mukherjee S, Ariffin M, Rondoni L
    Chaos, 2016 Mar;26(3):033105.
    PMID: 27036183 DOI: 10.1063/1.4941374
    Reconstruction of phase space is an effective method to quantify the dynamics of a signal or a time series. Various phase space reconstruction techniques have been investigated. However, there are some issues on the optimal reconstructions and the best possible choice of the reconstruction parameters. This research introduces the idea of gradient cross recurrence (GCR) and mean gradient cross recurrence density which shows that reconstructions in time frequency domain preserve more information about the dynamics than the optimal reconstructions in time domain. This analysis is further extended to ECG signals of normal and congestive heart failure patients. By using another newly introduced measure-gradient cross recurrence period density entropy, two classes of aforesaid ECG signals can be classified with a proper threshold. This analysis can be applied to quantifying and distinguishing biomedical and other nonlinear signals.
  8. Fulltext Anthelmintic activity of selected ethno-medicinal plant extracts on parasitic stages of Haemonchus contortus
    Kumarasingha R, Preston S, Yeo TC, Lim DS, Tu CL, Palombo EA, et al.
    Parasit Vectors, 2016;9(1):187.
    PMID: 27036205 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1458-9
    Parasitic roundworms (nematodes) cause substantial morbidity and mortality in livestock animals globally, and considerable productivity losses to farmers. The control of these nematodes has relied largely on the use of a limited number of anthelmintics. However, resistance to many of these these anthelmintics is now widespread, and, therefore, there is a need to find new drugs to ensure sustained and effective treatment and control into the future.
    MeSH terms: Farmers; Animals; Anthelmintics; Biochemical Phenomena; Humans; Morbidity; Nematoda; Livestock
  9. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in a young child
    Bhagavathula AS, Jamshed SQ
    Lancet Infect Dis, 2016 Apr;16(4):405-6.
    PMID: 27036339 DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)00122-5
  10. Fulltext Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT) isoforms PH1 and PH2 perturb vacuolar physiology
    Callaghan PS, Siriwardana A, Hassett MR, Roepe PD
    Malar J, 2016;15(1):186.
    PMID: 27036417 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-016-1238-1
    Recent work has perfected yeast-based methods for measuring drug transport by the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine (CQ) resistance transporter (PfCRT).
    MeSH terms: Biological Transport; Chloroquine; Plasmodium falciparum; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Protozoan Proteins; Membrane Transport Proteins
  11. Psychometric properties of the Drive for Muscularity Scale in Malay men
    Swami V, Barron D, Lau PL, Jaafar JL
    Body Image, 2016 Jun;17:111-6.
    PMID: 27037873 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.03.004
    The Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) is a widely used measure in studies of men's body image, but few studies have examined its psychometric properties outside English-speaking samples. Here, we assessed the factor structure of a Malay translation of the DMS. A community sample of 159 Malay men from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed the DMS, along with measures of self-esteem, body appreciation, and muscle discrepancy. Exploratory factor analysis led to the extraction of two factors, differentiating attitudes from behaviours, which mirrors the parent scale. Both factors also loaded on to a higher-order drive for muscularity factor. The subscales of the Malay DMS had adequate internal consistencies and good convergent validity, insofar as significant relationships were reported with self-esteem, body appreciation, muscle discrepancy, and body mass index. These results indicate that the Malay DMS has acceptable psychometric properties and can be used to assess body image concerns in Malay men.
  12. The use of FAMACHA in estimation of gastrointestinal nematodes and total worm burden in Damara and Barbados Blackbelly cross sheep
    Mohammed K, Abba Y, Ramli NS, Marimuthu M, Omar MA, Abdullah FF, et al.
    Trop Anim Health Prod, 2016 Jun;48(5):1013-20.
    PMID: 27038194 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-016-1049-y
    The prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes and total worm burden of Damara and Barbados Blackbelly cross sheep was investigated among smallholder farms in Salak Tinggi district of Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 50 sheep raised in smallholder farms comprising of 27 Damara cross and 23 Barbados Blackbelly cross were categorized based on their age into young and adults. Fecal samples were collected and examined for strongyle egg count by using modified McMaster technique. Severity of infection was categorized into mild, moderate, and heavy, based on egg per gram (EPG). Five sheep were randomly selected and slaughtered to examine the presence of adult gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes through total worm count (TWC). Faffa Malan Chart (FAMACHA) score was used for investigation of worm load based on the degree of anemia. The study revealed an overall EPG prevalence of 88 %, of which 84.1 % had mild infection. There was a significant difference (p = 0.002) in EPG among the two breeds. Based on age, significant difference (p = 0. 004) in EPG was observed among Barbados Blackbelly cross, but not for Damara cross (p = 0.941). The correlation between severity of infection and the FAMACHA score was significant (r = 0.289; p = 0.042). Haemonchus spp. were the most predominant nematode found in the gastrointestinal tract, followed by Trichostrongylus and Oesophagostomum spps. EPG and TWC for Haemonchus were positively correlated, but not significant (r = 0.85, p = 0.066). From regression analysis, 73 % of the variability in TWC for Haemonchus could be explained by EPG. Thus, it can be concluded that FAMACHA score correlates well with severity of infection of a nematode and can be used to assess the strongyle nematode burden in the different sheep crosses.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Feces/parasitology; Gastrointestinal Diseases/epidemiology; Gastrointestinal Diseases/parasitology; Gastrointestinal Diseases/veterinary*; Malaysia/epidemiology; Parasite Egg Count/veterinary; Sheep; Sheep Diseases/epidemiology*; Sheep Diseases/parasitology; Prevalence; Strongylida/isolation & purification*; Strongylida Infections/epidemiology; Strongylida Infections/parasitology; Strongylida Infections/veterinary*; Sheep, Domestic
  13. Antibiotic Application and Emergence of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) in Global Catfish Aquaculture
    Chuah LO, Effarizah ME, Goni AM, Rusul G
    Curr Environ Health Rep, 2016 Jun;3(2):118-27.
    PMID: 27038482 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-016-0091-2
    Catfish is one of the most cultivated species worldwide. Antibiotics are usually used in catfish farming as therapeutic and prophylactic agents. In the USA, only oxytetracycline, a combination of sulfadimethoxine and ormetoprim, and florfenicol are approved by the Food Drug Administration for specific fish species (e.g., catfish and salmonids) and their specific diseases. Misuse of antibiotics as prophylactic agents in disease prevention, however, is common and contributes in the development of antibiotic resistance. Various studies had reported on antibiotic residues and/or resistance in farmed species, feral fish, water column, sediments, and, in a lesser content, among farm workers. Ninety percent of the world aquaculture production is carried out in developing countries, which lack regulations and enforcement on the use of antibiotics. Hence, efforts are needed to promote the development and enforcement of such a regulatory structure. Alternatives to antibiotics such as antibacterial vaccines, bacteriophages and their lysins, and probiotics have been applied to curtail the increasing emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria due to the imprudent application of antibiotics in aquaculture.
  14. Cancer prevention and therapy through the modulation of transcription factors by bioactive natural compounds
    Shanmugam MK, Lee JH, Chai EZ, Kanchi MM, Kar S, Arfuso F, et al.
    Semin Cancer Biol, 2016 10;40-41:35-47.
    PMID: 27038646 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2016.03.005
    The association between chronic inflammation and cancer development has been well documented. One of the major obstacles in cancer treatment is the persistent autocrine and paracrine activation of pro-inflammatory transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, activator protein 1, fork head box protein M1, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α in a wide variety of tumor cell lines and patient specimens. This, in turn, leads to an accelerated production of cellular adhesion molecules, inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, anti-apoptotic molecules, and inducible nitric oxide synthase. Numerous medicinal plant-derived compounds have made a tremendous impact in drug discovery research endeavors, and have been reported to modulate the activation of diverse oncogenic transcription factors in various tumor models. Moreover, novel therapeutic combinations of standard chemotherapeutic drugs with these agents have significantly improved patient survival by making cancer cells more susceptible to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this review, we critically analyze the existing literature on the modulation of diverse transcription factors by various natural compounds and provide views on new directions for accelerating the discovery of novel drug candidates derived from Mother Nature.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/pharmacology*; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/therapeutic use; Humans; Neoplasms/drug therapy; Neoplasms/prevention & control*; Plant Extracts/pharmacology; Plant Extracts/therapeutic use; Transcription Factors/metabolism*; Signal Transduction/drug effects; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects; Anticarcinogenic Agents/pharmacology*; Anticarcinogenic Agents/therapeutic use; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Carcinogenesis/drug effects
  15. Hybrid benzothiazole analogs as antiurease agent: Synthesis and molecular docking studies
    Taha M, Ismail NH, Imran S, Wadood A, Rahim F, Khan KM, et al.
    Bioorg Chem, 2016 Jun;66:80-7.
    PMID: 27038849 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2016.03.010
    Benzothiazole analogs (1-20) have been synthesized, characterized by EI-MS and (1)H NMR, and evaluated for urease inhibition activity. All compounds showed excellent urease inhibitory potential varying from 1.4±0.10 to 34.43±2.10μM when compared with standard thiourea (IC50 19.46±1.20μM). Among the series seventeen (17) analogs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 18 showed outstanding urease inhibitory potential. Analogs 15 and 19 also showed good urease inhibition activity. When we compare the activity of N-phenylthiourea 20 with all substituted phenyl derivatives (1-18) we found that compound 15 showed less activity than compound 20 having 3-methoxy substituent. The binding interactions of these active analogs were confirmed through molecular docking.
    MeSH terms: Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme Inhibitors/chemical synthesis; Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology*; Enzyme Inhibitors/chemistry; Humans; Structure-Activity Relationship; Urease/antagonists & inhibitors*; Urease/metabolism; Molecular Structure; Benzothiazoles/chemical synthesis; Benzothiazoles/pharmacology*; Benzothiazoles/chemistry; Molecular Docking Simulation*
  16. Artificial olfactory system with fault-tolerant sensor array
    Lotfivand N, Abdolzadeh V, Hamidon MN
    ISA Trans, 2016 Jul;63:425-435.
    PMID: 27038885 DOI: 10.1016/j.isatra.2016.03.012
    Numerous applications of artificial olfaction resulting from research in many branches of sciences have caused considerable interest in the enhancement of these systems. In this paper, we offer an architecture which is suitable for critical applications, such as medical diagnosis, where reliability and precision are deemed important. The proposed architecture is able to tolerate failures in the sensors of the array. In this study, the discriminating ability of the proposed architecture in detecting complex odors, as well as the performance of the proposed architecture in encountering sensor failure, were investigated and compared with the generic architecture. The results demonstrated that by applying the proposed architecture in the artificial olfactory system, the performance of system in the healthy mode was identical to the classic structure. However, in the faulty situation, the proposed architecture implied high identification ability of odor samples, while the generic architecture showed very poor performance in the same situation. Based on the results, it was possible to achieve high odor identification through the developed artificial olfactory system using the proposed architecture.
    MeSH terms: Olfactory Pathways; Paper; Research; Smell; Reproducibility of Results
  17. Fulltext Interaction of plant growth regulators and reactive oxygen species to regulate petal senescence in wallflowers (Erysimum linifolium)
    Salleh FM, Mariotti L, Spadafora ND, Price AM, Picciarelli P, Wagstaff C, et al.
    BMC Plant Biol, 2016;16(1):77.
    PMID: 27039085 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-016-0766-8
    In many species floral senescence is coordinated by ethylene. Endogenous levels rise, and exogenous application accelerates senescence. Furthermore, floral senescence is often associated with increased reactive oxygen species, and is delayed by exogenously applied cytokinin. However, how these processes are linked remains largely unresolved. Erysimum linifolium (wallflower) provides an excellent model for understanding these interactions due to its easily staged flowers and close taxonomic relationship to Arabidopsis. This has facilitated microarray analysis of gene expression during petal senescence and provided gene markers for following the effects of treatments on different regulatory pathways.
    MeSH terms: Cytokinins; Ethylenes; Gene Expression; Arabidopsis; Reactive Oxygen Species; Erysimum; Flowers; Microarray Analysis
  18. Electrocoagulation using a rotated anode: A novel reactor design for textile wastewater treatment
    Naje AS, Chelliapan S, Zakaria Z, Abbas SA
    J Environ Manage, 2016 Jul 1;176:34-44.
    PMID: 27039362 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.03.034
    This paper investigates the optimum operational conditions of a novel rotated bed electrocoagulation (EC) reactor for the treatment of textile wastewater. The effect of various operational parameters such as rotational speed, current density (CD), operational time (RT), pH, temperature, and inter-electrode distance (IED) on the pollutant removal efficiency were examined. In addition, the consumption of aluminum (Al) and electrical energy, as well as operating costs at optimum conditions were also calculated. The results indicated that the optimum conditions for the treatment of textile wastewater were achieved at CD = 4 mA/cm(2), RT = 10 min, rotational speed = 150 rpm, pH = 4.57, temperature = 25 °C, and IED = 1 cm. The electrode consumption, energy consumption, and operating costs were 0.038 kg/m(3), 4.66 kWh/m(3) and 0.44 US$/m(3), respectively. The removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solid (TSS), turbidity and color were 97.10%, 95.55%, 98%, 96% and 98.50%, respectively, at the first 10 min of reaction time, while the phenol compound of the wastewater was almost entirely removed (99.99%). The experimental results confirm that the new reactor design with rotated anode impellers and cathode rings provided high treatment efficiency at a reduced reaction time and with lower energy consumption.
    MeSH terms: Aluminum; Electricity; Electrocoagulation; Electrodes; Environmental Pollutants; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Phenols; Reaction Time; Temperature; Textiles; Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; Waste Water
  19. Feasibility of A-mode ultrasound attenuation as a monitoring method of local hyperthermia treatment
    Manaf NA, Aziz MN, Ridzuan DS, Mohamad Salim MI, Wahab AA, Lai KW, et al.
    Med Biol Eng Comput, 2016 Jun;54(6):967-81.
    PMID: 27039402 DOI: 10.1007/s11517-016-1480-2
    Recently, there is an increasing interest in the use of local hyperthermia treatment for a variety of clinical applications. The desired therapeutic outcome in local hyperthermia treatment is achieved by raising the local temperature to surpass the tissue coagulation threshold, resulting in tissue necrosis. In oncology, local hyperthermia is used as an effective way to destroy cancerous tissues and is said to have the potential to replace conventional treatment regime like surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, the inability to closely monitor temperature elevations from hyperthermia treatment in real time with high accuracy continues to limit its clinical applicability. Local hyperthermia treatment requires real-time monitoring system to observe the progression of the destroyed tissue during and after the treatment. Ultrasound is one of the modalities that have great potential for local hyperthermia monitoring, as it is non-ionizing, convenient and has relatively simple signal processing requirement compared to magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. In a two-dimensional ultrasound imaging system, changes in tissue microstructure during local hyperthermia treatment are observed in terms of pixel value analysis extracted from the ultrasound image itself. Although 2D ultrasound has shown to be the most widely used system for monitoring hyperthermia in ultrasound imaging family, 1D ultrasound on the other hand could offer a real-time monitoring and the method enables quantitative measurement to be conducted faster and with simpler measurement instrument. Therefore, this paper proposes a new local hyperthermia monitoring method that is based on one-dimensional ultrasound. Specifically, the study investigates the effect of ultrasound attenuation in normal and pathological breast tissue when the temperature in tissue is varied between 37 and 65 °C during local hyperthermia treatment. Besides that, the total protein content measurement was also conducted to investigate the relationship between attenuation and tissue denaturation level at different temperature ranges. The tissues were grouped according to their histology results, namely normal tissue with large predominance of cells (NPC), cancer tissue with large predominance of cells (CPC) and cancer with high collagen fiber content (CHF). The result shows that the attenuation coefficient of ultrasound measured following the local hyperthermia treatment increases with the increment of collagen fiber content in tissue as the CHF attenuated ultrasound at the highest rate, followed by NPC and CPC. Additionally, the attenuation increment is more pronounced at the temperature over 55 °C. This describes that the ultrasound wave experienced more energy loss when it propagates through a heated tissue as the tissue structure changes due to protein coagulation effect. Additionally, a significant increase in the sensitivity of attenuation to protein denaturation is also observed with the highest sensitivity obtained in monitoring NPC. Overall, it is concluded that one-dimensional ultrasound can be used as a monitoring method of local hyperthermia since its attenuation is very sensitive to the changes in tissue microstructure during hyperthermia.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Feasibility Studies; Female; Hyperthermia, Induced/methods*; Monitoring, Physiologic*; Protein Denaturation; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Temperature; Ultrasonics*; Mice
  20. Roles of Ki67 in Breast Cancer - Important for Management?
    Yip Ch, Bhoo-Pathy N, Daniel J, Foo Y, Mohamed A, Abdullah M, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2016;17(3):1077-82.
    PMID: 27039727
    BACKGROUND: The three standard biomarkers used in breast cancer are the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The Ki-67 index, a proliferative marker, has been shown to be associated with a poorer outcome, and despite absence of standardization of pathological assessment, is widely used for therapy decision making. We aim to study the role of the Ki-67 index in a group of Asian women with breast cancer.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 450 women newly diagnosed with Stage 1 to 3 invasive breast cancer in a single centre from July 2013 to Dec 2014 were included in this study. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association between Ki-67 (positive defined as 14% and above) and age, ethnicity, grade, mitotic index, ER, PR, HER2, lymph node status and size. All analyses were performed using SPSS Version 22.

    RESULTS: In univariable analysis, Ki -67 index was associated with younger age, higher grade, ER and PR negativity, HER2 positivity, high mitotic index and positive lymph nodes. However on multivariable analysis only tumour size, grade, PR and HER2 remained significant. Out of 102 stage 1 patients who had ER positive/PR positive/HER2 negative tumours and non-grade 3, only 5 (4.9%) had a positive Ki-67 index and may have been offered chemotherapy. However, it is interesting to note that none of these patients received chemotherapy.

    CONCLUSIONS: Information on Ki67 would have potentially changed management in an insignificant proportion of patients with stage 1 breast cancer.

    MeSH terms: Adult; Breast Neoplasms/metabolism*; Breast Neoplasms/pathology*; Female; Humans; Lymph Nodes/metabolism; Lymph Nodes/pathology; Neoplasm Staging/methods; Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism; Multivariate Analysis; Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism; Ki-67 Antigen/metabolism*
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