Browse publications by year: 2016

  1. Amiruzehan Kassim, Raja Nur Adilah Raja Abdul Rahman, Mohd Faizal Hafez Hidayat, Budi Aslinie Md Sabri
    Compendium of Oral Science, 2016;3(1):25-32.
    MyJurnal
    Objectives: To assess the prevalence of handedness and its impact on the perceived difficulty in clinical training amongst undergraduate dental students in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 5 dental schools around the Klang Valley. Samples consisted of year 4 and year 5 clinical undergraduate dental students. Information on the socio-demographic data, the determination of handedness and assesment of perceived difficulty in carrying out certain clinical procedures were collected. Results: A total sample of 347 participants of which 76.9% were females was obtained. The distribution of year 4 and year 5 students in the sample were equal. Eighty five percent of the samples were right-handed, 9.5% were ambidextrous and 5.5% were left-handed. Statistically significant difference was found between handedness groups for the combined clinical procedures variable: F (2.100), P
    MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Environment; Female; Hand; Humans; Functional Laterality; Malaysia; Male; Surveys and Questionnaires; Schools, Dental; Students, Dental; Prevalence
  2. Sinniah, Saraswathy D., Jones, Steven P., Georgiou, George, Cunningham, Susan J., Petrie, Aviva
    Compendium of Oral Science, 2016;3(1):17-24.
    MyJurnal
    used with bonded retainers. Setting: Department of Orthodontics, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, United Kingdom. Methods: Flowable composite resins (Transbond TM Supreme LV, StarFlowTM and Tetric EvoFlow®) and non -flowable control resin (TransbondTM LR) were made into cylinders prior to bonding to hydoxyapatite discs. They were then mounted into jigs and tested in the InstronTM Universal Testing Machine in both shear and tensile modes. Results: The highest mean shear bond strength was seen with StarFlow TM (14.09 MPa), which was significantly higher than both TransbondTM LR (9.48 MPa) and TransbondTM Supreme LV (8.20 MPa). The mean shear bond strength of Tetric EvoFlow® (11.86 MPa) was also significantly higher than TransbondTM Supreme LV. The highest mean tensile bond strength was seen with Tetric EvoFlow® (2.14 MPa), which was significantly higher than TransbondTM LR (1.15 MPa) and TransbondTM Supreme LV (0.61 MPa) but not significantly different to StarFlowTM (1.47 MPa). For shear loading, StarFlowTM had the highest 50th percentile survival estimate at 15.10 MPa, followed by Tetric EvoFlow® (13.00 MPa) and TransbondTM Supreme LV (7.50 MPa). TransbondTM LR had a 50th percentile estimate at 9.00 MPa. For tensile loading, Tetric EvoFlow® had the highest 50th percentile survival estimate at 2.50 MPa, followed by StarFlowTM (1.30 MPa) and TransbondTM Supreme LV (0.50 MPa). TransbondTM LR had a 50th percentile estimate at 1.00 MPa. Conclusions: Mean shear bond strengths for all of the resins were significantly higher than the mean tensile bond strengths. StarFlowTM and Tetric EvoFlow® could potentially be suitable clinical alternatives to TransbondTM LR due to its low viscosity flow characteristics and adequate shear and tensile bond strengths.
    MeSH terms: Composite Resins; Orthodontics; Resins, Plant; Tensile Strength; Viscosity; Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate
  3. Thiyab, Amar M., Mahmood, Nik Zarina N., Hassan, Mohamed Ibrahim A.
    MyJurnal
    Objectives: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of the time and instant coffee solution on the color stability of three types of composite resin based veneer systems. Materials and Methods: 24 composite resin veneer samples were selected and divided into three groups: two groups of prefabricated veneers (Edelweiss, Ultradent Inc™ (EDL) and Componeer, Coltène/ Whaledent AGTM (CMP)) and one group of laboratory made (Nexco, Ivoclar Vivadent (NEX)) veneer system were tested (n=8). Specimens were prepared and stored in staining solution (instant coffee) and assessed color changes with Minolta spectrophotometer every three days for a period of 27 days, after which color differences (ΔE*) were calculated. Data collection and analysis was done using one-way ANOVA and Student’s t-test (α=0.05). Results: One-way ANOVA revealed a significant difference in color stability between the two veneer systems. NEX group veneer system exhibited the highest color stability (ΔE*= 0.73 ± 0.5) as compared to prefabricated veneer groups (EDL 10.07 ± 5.15, CMP 7.41 ± 4.64) with p value
    MeSH terms: Acrylic Resins; Analysis of Variance; Coffee; Color; Composite Resins; Cytidine Monophosphate; Humans; Polyurethanes; Staining and Labeling; Waxes
  4. Mohd Faiz Nasruddin, Theocharospoulos, Antonios, Ray, Noel, Burke, Francis M.
    MyJurnal
    Fitting accuracy of dental prostheses is essential for clinical success. An ideal marginal and internal fit will minimize plaque accumulation, gingival irritation, cement dissolution and micro leakage as well as enhancing the mechanical behaviour of a fixed partial denture (FPD) (1). Unfortunately, there is disagreement about acceptable marginal and internal fit discrepancies of FPD’s (2) from 75-200μm. There are two main manufacturing routes of CAD/CAM FPD’s: the subtractive and the additive route. The subtractive route is a top-down approach which involves milling the desired article out of a block of the material of choice using a series of burs. This route is currently the most common CAD/CAM technique for the fabrication of metal alloy FPD’s. The additive route is a bottom-up approach where the desired article is fabricated layer by layer out of the material of choice. Examples include selective laser sintering and selective laser melting for metal alloy FPD’s.
    MeSH terms: Alloys; Denture, Partial, Fixed; Lasers; Solubility; Computer-Aided Design
  5. Khachatryan V, Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Asilar E, Bergauer T, et al.
    Eur Phys J C Part Fields, 2016 01 11;76:13.
    PMID: 26855607
    A measurement is presented of differential cross sections for Higgs boson (H) production in pp collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]. The analysis exploits the [Formula: see text] decay in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7[Formula: see text] collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The cross section is measured as a function of the kinematic properties of the diphoton system and of the associated jets. Results corrected for detector effects are compared with predictions at next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics, as well as with predictions beyond the standard model. For isolated photons with pseudorapidities [Formula: see text], and with the photon of largest and next-to-largest transverse momentum ([Formula: see text]) divided by the diphoton mass [Formula: see text] satisfying the respective conditions of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the total fiducial cross section is [Formula: see text][Formula: see text].
  6. Khachatryan V, Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Asilar E, Bergauer T, et al.
    Eur Phys J C Part Fields, 2016 03 08;76:128.
    PMID: 27471431
    The cross section for [Formula: see text] production in the all-jets final state is measured in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 [Formula: see text] at the LHC with the CMS detector, in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.4 [Formula: see text]. The inclusive cross section is found to be [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]. The normalized differential cross sections are measured as a function of the top quark transverse momenta, [Formula: see text], and compared to predictions from quantum chromodynamics. The results are reported at detector, parton, and particle levels. In all cases, the measured top quark [Formula: see text] spectra are significantly softer than theoretical predictions.
  7. Khachatryan V, Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Asilar E, Bergauer T, et al.
    Eur Phys J C Part Fields, 2016 03 17;76:155.
    PMID: 27471433
    New sets of parameters ("tunes") for the underlying-event (UE) modelling of the pythia8, pythia6 and herwig++ Monte Carlo event generators are constructed using different parton distribution functions. Combined fits to CMS UE proton-proton ([Formula: see text]) data at [Formula: see text] and to UE proton-antiproton ([Formula: see text]) data from the CDF experiment at lower [Formula: see text], are used to study the UE models and constrain their parameters, providing thereby improved predictions for proton-proton collisions at 13[Formula: see text]. In addition, it is investigated whether the values of the parameters obtained from fits to UE observables are consistent with the values determined from fitting observables sensitive to double-parton scattering processes. Finally, comparisons are presented of the UE tunes to "minimum bias" (MB) events, multijet, and Drell-Yan ([Formula: see text] lepton-antilepton+jets) observables at 7 and 8[Formula: see text], as well as predictions for MB and UE observables at 13[Formula: see text].
  8. Frid AH, Hirsch LJ, Menchior AR, Morel DR, Strauss KW
    Mayo Clin Proc, 2016 Sep;91(9):1224-30.
    PMID: 27594186 DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.06.012
    From February 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015, 13,289 insulin-injecting patients from 423 centers in 42 countries participated in one of the largest surveys ever performed in diabetes. The first results of this survey are published elsewhere in this issue. Herein we report that the most common complication of injecting insulin is lipohypertrophy (LH), which was self-reported by 29.0% of patients and found by physical examination in 30.8% by health care professionals (HCPs). Patients with LH consumed a mean of 10.1 IU more insulin daily than patients without LH. Glycated hemoglobin levels averaged 0.55% higher in patients with vs without LH. Lipohypertrophy was associated with higher rates of unexplained hypoglycemia and glycemic variability as well as more frequent diabetic ketoacidosis, incorrect rotation of injection sites, use of smaller injection zones, longer duration of insulin use, and reuse of pen needles (each P
    MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/diagnosis*; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy*; Female; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents/administration & dosage*; Injections/adverse effects; Injections/methods*; Insulin/administration & dosage*; Male; Middle Aged; Patient Education as Topic*; Physician's Role*; Surveys and Questionnaires
  9. Frid AH, Hirsch LJ, Menchior AR, Morel DR, Strauss KW
    Mayo Clin Proc, 2016 Sep;91(9):1212-23.
    PMID: 27594185 DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.06.011
    From February 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015, 13,289 insulin-injecting patients from 423 centers in 42 countries took part in one of the largest surveys ever performed in diabetes. The goal was to assess patient characteristics, as well as historical and practical aspects of their injection technique. Results show that 4- and 8-mm needle lengths are each used by nearly 30% of patients and 5- and 6-mm needles each by approximately 20%. Higher consumption of insulin (as measured by total daily dose) is associated with having lipohypertrophy (LH), injecting into LH, leakage from the injection site, and failing to reconstitute cloudy insulin. Glycated hemoglobin values are, on average, 0.5% higher in patients with LH and are significantly higher with incorrect rotation of sites and with needle reuse. Glycated hemoglobin values are lower in patients who distribute their injections over larger injection areas and whose sites are inspected routinely. The frequencies of unexpected hypoglycemia and glucose variability are significantly higher in those with LH, those injecting into LH, those who incorrectly rotate sites, and those who reuse needles. Needles associated with diabetes treatment are the most commonly used medical sharps in the world. However, correct disposal of sharps after use is critically suboptimal. Many used sharps end up in public trash and constitute a major accidental needlestick risk. Use of these data should stimulate renewed interest in and commitment to optimizing injection practices in patients with diabetes.
    Study sites: 423 centers in 42 countries (Malaysia contributed 51 patients from two hospital study sites)
    MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/diagnosis*; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy*; Female; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents/administration & dosage*; Injections/methods*; Insulin/administration & dosage*; Male; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Needlestick Injuries
  10. Feng Z, Hu X, Jiang Z, Song H, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Mar;23(2):189-97.
    PMID: 26980999 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.10.008
    The recognition of protein folds is an important step in the prediction of protein structure and function. Recently, an increasing number of researchers have sought to improve the methods for protein fold recognition. Following the construction of a dataset consisting of 27 protein fold classes by Ding and Dubchak in 2001, prediction algorithms, parameters and the construction of new datasets have improved for the prediction of protein folds. In this study, we reorganized a dataset consisting of 76-fold classes constructed by Liu et al. and used the values of the increment of diversity, average chemical shifts of secondary structure elements and secondary structure motifs as feature parameters in the recognition of multi-class protein folds. With the combined feature vector as the input parameter for the Random Forests algorithm and ensemble classification strategy, we propose a novel method to identify the 76 protein fold classes. The overall accuracy of the test dataset using an independent test was 66.69%; when the training and test sets were combined, with 5-fold cross-validation, the overall accuracy was 73.43%. This method was further used to predict the test dataset and the corresponding structural classification of the first 27-protein fold class dataset, resulting in overall accuracies of 79.66% and 93.40%, respectively. Moreover, when the training set and test sets were combined, the accuracy using 5-fold cross-validation was 81.21%. Additionally, this approach resulted in improved prediction results using the 27-protein fold class dataset constructed by Ding and Dubchak.
    MeSH terms: Algorithms; Proteins; Protein Structure, Secondary
  11. Sarfraz M, Sajid S, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Nov;23(6):761-766.
    PMID: 27872574
    In diabetes mellitus dyslipidemia is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In type 2 diabetes mellitus early detection and treatment of dyslipidemia can avoid risk for cardiovascular disorder. The present study was carried to determine the prevalence and pattern of hyperlipidemia in patients with hyperglycemia. The cross sectional study was done in different laboratories of Pakistan, the laboratories served patients referred from different government and private hospitals between July 2014 and June 2015. All known cases of diabetes mellitus were evaluated for their lipid profile. Totally 200 diabetic patients were included in the study in which 120 (60%) were males and 80 (40%) were females. Prevalence of dyslipidemia among diabetic males was 97.18% while for females 87.15%. Among dyslipidemic male the proportion with mixed dyslipidemic patients was 17.5%, combined two parameters dyslipidemia was 47.5% and isolated single parameter dyslipidemia was 35%. In females these proportions in mixed, combined two parameters and isolated single parameter were 16.25%, 51.25% and 32.5%, respectively. Majority of hyperglycemic patients were dyslipidemic. The most prevalent pattern among male was combined dyslipidemia with high triglycerides (TG) and low High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and in female it was high Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and low HDL. The most prevalent lipid abnormality in our study was low HDL followed by high TG.
    MeSH terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Female; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hyperlipidemias; Lipids; Lipoproteins, HDL; Male; Metabolic Diseases; Pakistan; Risk Factors; Triglycerides; Hypertriglyceridemia; Prevalence; Hospitals, Private; Dyslipidemias
  12. Wang X, Huang Y, Radha Krishna L, Puvanendran R
    J Pain Symptom Manage, 2016 Apr;51(4):794-799.
    PMID: 26891608 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.11.028
    Decision-making on behalf of an incapacitated patient at the end of life is a complex process, particularly in family-centric societies. The situation is more complex when attempts are made to accommodate Eastern concepts of end-of-life care with more conventional Western approaches. In this case report of an incapacitated 74-year-old Singaporean man of Malay descent with relapsed Stage 4 diffuse large B cell lymphoma who was without an established lasting power of attorney, we highlight the difficult deliberations that ensue when the patient's family, acting as his proxy, elected to administer lingzhi through his nasogastric tube (NGT). Focusing on the questions pertaining to end-of-life decision-making in Asia, we consider the issues surrounding the use of NGT and lingzhi in palliative care (PC) and the implementation of NGT for administering lingzhi in a PC setting, particularly in light of a dearth of data on such treatment measures among PC patients.
    MeSH terms: Aged; Attitude to Death; Decision Making*; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*; Family/psychology; Humans; Intubation, Gastrointestinal*; Malaysia/ethnology; Male; Phytotherapy/methods*; Phytotherapy/psychology; Phytotherapy/ethics; Palliative Care/methods*; Palliative Care/psychology; Palliative Care/ethics; Singapore; Terminal Care/methods; Terminal Care/psychology; Terminal Care/ethics; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/therapy; Fatal Outcome; Reishi*
  13. Patel RP, Förster DW, Kitchener AC, Rayan MD, Mohamed SW, Werner L, et al.
    R Soc Open Sci, 2016 Oct;3(10):160350.
    PMID: 27853549
    Background. The bay cat Catopuma badia is endemic to Borneo, whereas its sister species the Asian golden cat Catopuma temminckii is distributed from the Himalayas and southern China through Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Based on morphological data, up to five subspecies of the Asian golden cat have been recognized, but a taxonomic assessment, including molecular data and morphological characters, is still lacking. Results. We combined molecular data (whole mitochondrial genomes), morphological data (pelage) and species distribution projections (up to the Late Pleistocene) to infer how environmental changes may have influenced the distribution of these sister species over the past 120 000 years. The molecular analysis was based on sequenced mitogenomes of 3 bay cats and 40 Asian golden cats derived mainly from archival samples. Our molecular data suggested a time of split between the two species approximately 3.16 Ma and revealed very low nucleotide diversity within the Asian golden cat population, which supports recent expansion of the population. Discussion. The low nucleotide diversity suggested a population bottleneck in the Asian golden cat, possibly caused by the eruption of the Toba volcano in Northern Sumatra (approx. 74 kya), followed by a continuous population expansion in the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene. Species distribution projections, the reconstruction of the demographic history, a genetic isolation-by-distance pattern and a gradual variation of pelage pattern support the hypothesis of a post-Toba population expansion of the Asian golden cat from south China/Indochina to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Our findings reject the current classification of five subspecies for the Asian golden cat, but instead support either a monotypic species or one comprising two subspecies: (i) the Sunda golden cat, distributed south of the Isthmus of Kra: C. t. temminckii and (ii) Indochinese, Indian, Himalayan and Chinese golden cats, occurring north of the Isthmus: C. t. moormensis.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Base Sequence; Borneo; Cats; China; Demography; Indonesia; Longitudinal Studies; Malaysia; Nucleotides; Felis; Genome, Mitochondrial; Reproductive Isolation; Bays
  14. Kumar S, Markscheffel B
    Scientometrics, 2016;109(1):533-550.
    PMID: 32287514 DOI: 10.1007/s11192-016-1942-1
    Hantavirus, one of the deadliest viruses known to humans, hospitalizes tens of thousands of people each year in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Transmitted by infected rodents and their excreta, Hantavirus are identified as etiologic agents of two main types of diseases-Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, the latter having a fatality rate of above 40 %. Although considerable research for over two decades has been going on in this area, bibliometric studies to gauge the state of research of this field have been rare. An analysis of 2631 articles, extracted from WoS databases on Hantavirus between 1980 and 2014, indicated a progressive increase (R2 = 0.93) in the number of papers over the years, with the majority of papers being published in the USA and Europe. About 95 % papers were co-authored and the most common arrangement was 4-6 authors per paper. Co-authorship has seen a steady increase (R2 = 0.57) over the years. We apply research collaboration network analysis to investigate the best-connected authors in the field. The author-based networks have 49 components (connected clump of nodes) with 7373 vertices (authors) and 49,747 edges (co-author associations) between them. The giant component (the largest component) is healthy, occupying 84.19 % or 6208 vertices with 47,117 edges between them. By using edge-weight threshold, we drill down into the network to reveal bonded communities. We find three communities' hotspots-one, led by researchers at University of Helsinki, Finland; a second, led by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, USA; and a third, led by Hokkaido University, Japan. Significant correlation was found between author's structural position in the network and research performance, thus further supporting a well-studied phenomenon that centrality effects research productivity. However, it was the PageRank centrality that out-performed degree and betweenness centrality in its strength of correlation with research performance.
  15. James PB, Jamshed SQ, Patel I
    Asian Pac J Trop Dis, 2016 May;6(5):337-338.
    PMID: 32289032 DOI: 10.1016/S2222-1808(15)61041-6
    In its forty years history (1976-2016), the West African region has recorded the most devastating form of the Ebola virus disease. The sparse knowledge of healthcare professionals and general public combined with lesser responses from international community are major factors for the dissemination of the disease. In the context of this outbreak, there is a need to highlight the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists, especially in the African healthcare setting. Moreover, the prerequisite of diagnostic kits for the timely detection of the infection as well as pharmacists' awareness of the current therapeutic regimen are recommended.
  16. Pourshahrestani S, Zeimaran E, Adib Kadri N, Gargiulo N, Samuel S, Naveen SV, et al.
    J Mater Chem B, 2016 Jan 07;4(1):71-86.
    PMID: 32262810 DOI: 10.1039/c5tb02062j
    Haemorrhage remains the leading cause of potentially survivable death in both military and civilian populations. Although a large variety of hemostatic agents have been developed, many of them have an inadequate capacity to induce hemostasis and are not effective in killing bacteria. In recent years, mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) were found to be effective in inducing hemostasis. However, the materials may not be considered as ideal hemostats since they do not offer antimicrobial activity. The gallium ion (Ga+3) not only exhibits antibacterial properties but also accelerates the blood coagulation cascade. The aim of this study was to develop MBGs containing various concentrations of Ga2O3 (1, 2 & 3 mol%) via the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process and investigate whether the addition of Ga3+ would induce both hemostatic and antibacterial effects. The results indicated that the incorporation of lower Ga2O3 content (1 mol%) into the MBG system improved structural properties including the specific surface area, mesopore size and pore volume as well as the release of silicon and calcium ions. The bioactive glass was found to stimulate blood coagulation, platelet adhesion and thrombus generation and exerted an antibacterial effect against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Likewise, Ga-doped MBGs showed excellent cytocompatibility even after 3 days, with the 1% Ga2O3-containing MBG attaining the best biocompatibility that render them safe hemostatic agents for stopping bleeding. This study demonstrated that the lowest Ga2O3-substituted MBG can be a potent candidate for controlling haemorrhage and wound infection.
  17. Almhanawi BH, Khalid B, Ibrahim TA, Tohit ERM
    Porto Biomed J, 2016 12 27;2(1):23-27.
    PMID: 32258580 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbj.2016.11.002
    Highlights: EDTA induces platelet microparticles (PMPs) vesiculation.Sodium citrated tubes are better than EDTA tubes in PMPs analysis.Sodium citrate has a minor impact on platelet structure.

    Abstract: Platelet microparticles (PMPs) are small membrane fragments released from activated platelets in response to various stimuli. PMPs serve as biomarkers for several diseases and conditions and are useful tools for prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic purposes. The objective of our study was to compare the direct effects of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and sodium citrate anticoagulants on platelet structure and PMP vesiculation using transmission electron microscopy to visualize the morphologic changes in platelets. Micrographs revealed that platelets in the EDTA-anticoagulated tube manifested with significant morphologic changes and induced PMP vesiculation. On the other hand, the sodium citrate-anticoagulated tube showed a normal platelet structure and minor modifications in some cases, with poor indication of PMP vesiculation. In conclusion, EDTA induced platelet activation and PMP vesiculation and represents a major source of artifacts during the pre-analysis steps of PMP vesiculation.

  18. Lee HY, Nyon MP, Strych U
    Curr Trop Med Rep, 2016;3(3):80-86.
    PMID: 32226714 DOI: 10.1007/s40475-016-0084-0
    Various types of vaccines are under pre-clinical and clinical development to address the recent appearance of Middle East respiratory syndrome or MERS, an emerging infectious disease that has already caused over 600 deaths and remains a threat to world health. The causative agent for this respiratory disease is a member of the betacoronavirus genus, phylogenetically closely related to the SARS coronavirus that caused an international health emergency in 2002. With lessons learned from the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, and with undeniable technological advances, vaccine development against MERS was initially fast-paced and has produced several DNA and protein vaccine candidates with promising results during early pre-clinical testing. At least one vaccine candidate has even entered first-in-humans clinical trials now. With the number of MERS cases declining though and other infectious diseases attracting increased attention, the question remains, whether, similar to the situation after the SARS pandemic, vaccine development is halted or remains the priority it rightfully should.
  19. Ali I, Alharbi OML, Marsin Sanagi M
    Environ Chem Lett, 2016;14(1):79-98.
    PMID: 32214934 DOI: 10.1007/s10311-015-0547-x
    Many analytical techniques have been used to monitor environmental pollutants. But most techniques are not capable to detect pollutants at nanogram levels. Hence, under such conditions, absence of pollutants is often assumed, whereas pollutants are in fact present at low but undetectable concentrations. Detection at low levels may be done by nano-capillary electrophoresis, also named microchip electrophoresis. Here, we review the analysis of pollutants by nano-capillary electrophoresis. We present instrumentations, applications, optimizations and separation mechanisms. We discuss the analysis of metal ions, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, explosives, viruses, bacteria and other contaminants. Detectors include ultraviolet-visible, fluorescent, conductivity, atomic absorption spectroscopy, refractive index, atomic fluorescence spectrometry, atomic emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry, time-of-flight mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. Detection limits ranged from nanogram to picogram levels.
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