Browse publications by year: 2017

Fulltext Hepatitis C and iron over load

Poddar, Sandeep

Malaysian Journal of Medical Research, 2017;1(1):25-30.
MyJurnal

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus: the virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis infection. Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection appear to have an excellent chance of responding to 6 months of standard therapy with interferon (IFN) and frequently develop systemic iron overload, which exacerbates morbidity. The iron excess in hepatitis C may be due to hereditary hemochromatosis, hematologic diseases, multiple transfusions, porphyria cutanea tarda and chronic alcohol abuse. Different mechanisms proposed to explain the relation between HCV infection and hepatic iron overload. Some revealed that hepatic iron accumulation results from release of iron from damaged liver cells. Consumption of coffee, tea also reduces iron absorption and thereby decrease iron overload in Liver and thereby reduces the oxidative stress of iron overload in liver. The global scenario of this problem has been discussed in the article.

MeSH terms: Alcoholism; Coffee; Hematologic Diseases; Hemochromatosis; Hepatitis C; Humans; Interferons; Iron; Tea; Hepacivirus; Porphyria Cutanea Tarda; Oxidative Stress; Iron Overload; Hepatitis C, Chronic
Fulltext Congenital renal anomalies - a dissection observational study

Bilodi, Arun Kumar .S, Gangadhar, M R

Malaysian Journal of Medical Research, 2017;1(1):14-18.
MyJurnal

Anomaly is a congenital disorder. It is a medical condition that is present since birth. But the word congenital neither applies nor excludes genetic disorder. Congenital anomalies due to environmental factors are called as Teratogens. Infections, deficiency in the diet and toxins are environmental causes. Maternal folic acid deficiency may cause spina bifida. Intake of alcohol, and certain prescribed drugs like phenytoin may cause congenital anomalies or defects. Apart from physical anomalies, other types of congenital disorders are inborn errors of metabolism (Kumar, Abbas and Fausto, 2005). About 15% to 25% of anomalies are due to chromosomal factors or single gene factors, 8% to 12% anomalies are said to be due to environmental factors, 25% are said to be due to multifactorial inheritance 40% to 60% of anomalies are of unknown origin (Stevenson, 1993 ; Nelson and Holmes, 1984). Congenital anomalies are present since birth with structural deformity found immediately after birth or their presence may be detected by signs and symptoms later on (Holland and Brew, 1991). Congenital Anomalies are seen in 2% of population as major abnormality. There are two types of abnormalities, namely malformations where growth disturbances occur during embryogenesis and the other is deformation. It is late change that appears in a structure which was normal earlier (Roizen and Patterson, 2003).

MeSH terms: Ethanol; Diet; Female; Folic Acid Deficiency; Humans; Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Netherlands; Phenytoin; Teratogens; Spinal Dysraphism; Multifactorial Inheritance; Parturition
Fulltext HIV/AIDS knowledge level among undergraduate health science students in a private university, Malaysia

Amin S, Awang Z

Malaysian Journal of Medical Research, 2017;1(1):1-7.
MyJurnal

Globally, the spread of HIV/AIDS is a major public health challenge because of its pandemic magnitudes. Despite the fact that people of any age are susceptible to HIV, the younger population is more susceptible to be infected because of their lifestyle choices. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of HIV/AIDS knowledge level among health science undergraduate university students as they play a primary role within the health care system of a country. A cross-sectional study was conducted by using a semi structured, self-administered, especially design questionnaire. Out of total one hundred fifty undergraduate university students, there were 96 males (64%) and 54 females (36%) with the age ranging from 19-25 years. All the students were able to write the acronym of HIV (100%) and AIDS (100%). Common routes of transmission and prevention measure were known by majority of the students. Students stated correctly regarding HIV/AIDS transmission from mother to child through pregnancy (18.02%), delivery (15.31%) and breast feeding (11.30%) which was very low level of knowledge. Most of the medical, dental and physiotherapy students had correct knowledge on high risk populace for HIV/AIDS; like singles, intravenous drug user, multiple sex partners and commercial sexual partner. Regarding the preventive measure as hand washing, use of facial mask and sexual abstinent was correctly mentioned by only 31.34%, 34.02% and 28.01% total students respectively. However other safety measure like condom use, effectiveness of condom use, screening of blood was widely known by the students. However, regarding the knowledge on treatment issue of HIV/AIDS, majority of the students (85.30%) correctly knew that HIV/AIDS was not curable, whereas only 15.31% and 20.01% correctly knew that the treatment was very expensive and available respectively. So, this study focus the educational endeavors that could be broadened to emphasis on its general knowledge on HIV/AIDS.
Study site: Medical, Dental and Physiotherapy Faculties at a private university college in Malaysia.

MeSH terms: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Malaysia; Students, Health Occupations; Students, Medical; Universities
Bioengineering of the Plant Culture of Capsicum frutescens with Vanillin Synthase Gene for the Production of Vanillin

Chee MJ, Lycett GW, Khoo TJ, Chin CF

Mol Biotechnol, 2017 Jan;59(1):1-8.
PMID: 27826796 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-016-9986-2

Production of vanillin by bioengineering has gained popularity due to consumer demand toward vanillin produced by biological systems. Natural vanillin from vanilla beans is very expensive to produce compared to its synthetic counterpart. Current bioengineering works mainly involve microbial biotechnology. Therefore, alternative means to the current approaches are constantly being explored. This work describes the use of vanillin synthase (VpVAN), to bioconvert ferulic acid to vanillin in a plant system. The VpVAN enzyme had been shown to directly convert ferulic acid and its glucoside into vanillin and its glucoside, respectively. As the ferulic acid precursor and vanillin were found to be the intermediates in the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway of Capsicum species, this work serves as a proof-of-concept for vanillin production using Capsicum frutescens (C. frutescens or hot chili pepper). The cells of C. frutescens were genetically transformed with a codon optimized VpVAN gene via biolistics. Transformed explants were selected and regenerated into callus. Successful integration of the gene cassette into the plant genome was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to quantify the phenolic compounds detected in the callus tissues. The vanillin content of transformed calli was 0.057% compared to 0.0003% in untransformed calli.

MeSH terms: Benzaldehydes/metabolism*; Capsicum/genetics; Capsicum/growth & development*; Coumaric Acids/metabolism; Hydro-Lyases/genetics; Hydro-Lyases/metabolism*; Plant Proteins/genetics; Plant Proteins/metabolism; Biolistics/methods*; Plants, Genetically Modified/growth & development; Biosynthetic Pathways; Bioengineering/methods
Fulltext Identification of IncA/C Plasmid Replication and Maintenance Genes and Development of a Plasmid Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme

Hancock SJ, Phan MD, Peters KM, Forde BM, Chong TM, Yin WF, et al.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2017 02;61(2).
PMID: 27872077 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.01740-16

Plasmids of incompatibility group A/C (IncA/C) are becoming increasingly prevalent within pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae They are associated with the dissemination of multiple clinically relevant resistance genes, including blaCMY and blaNDM Current typing methods for IncA/C plasmids offer limited resolution. In this study, we present the complete sequence of a blaNDM-1-positive IncA/C plasmid, pMS6198A, isolated from a multidrug-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain. Hypersaturated transposon mutagenesis, coupled with transposon-directed insertion site sequencing (TraDIS), was employed to identify conserved genetic elements required for replication and maintenance of pMS6198A. Our analysis of TraDIS data identified roles for the replicon, including repA, a toxin-antitoxin system; two putative partitioning genes, parAB; and a putative gene, 053 Construction of mini-IncA/C plasmids and examination of their stability within E. coli confirmed that the region encompassing 053 contributes to the stable maintenance of IncA/C plasmids. Subsequently, the four major maintenance genes (repA, parAB, and 053) were used to construct a new plasmid multilocus sequence typing (PMLST) scheme for IncA/C plasmids. Application of this scheme to a database of 82 IncA/C plasmids identified 11 unique sequence types (STs), with two dominant STs. The majority of blaNDM-positive plasmids examined (15/17; 88%) fall into ST1, suggesting acquisition and subsequent expansion of this blaNDM-containing plasmid lineage. The IncA/C PMLST scheme represents a standardized tool to identify, track, and analyze the dissemination of important IncA/C plasmid lineages, particularly in the context of epidemiological studies.

MeSH terms: beta-Lactamases/genetics; DNA Transposable Elements; DNA Replication; Plasmids/genetics*; Carbapenems/pharmacology; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics*; Escherichia coli Proteins/genetics; Uropathogenic Escherichia coli/classification; Uropathogenic Escherichia coli/genetics*; Multilocus Sequence Typing/methods*
Fulltext Detection of Wolbachia in Aedes albopictus and Their Effects on Chikungunya Virus

Ahmad NA, Vythilingam I, Lim YAL, Zabari NZAM, Lee HL

Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2017 Jan 11;96(1):148-156.
PMID: 27920393 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0516

Wolbachia-based vector control strategies have been proposed as a means to augment the currently existing measures for controlling dengue and chikungunya vectors. Prior to utilizing Wolbachia as a novel vector control strategy, it is crucial to understand the Wolbachia-mosquito interactions. In this study, field surveys were conducted to screen for the infection status of Wolbachia in field-collected Aedes albopictus The effects of Wolbachia in its native host toward the replication and dissemination of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was also studied. The prevalence of Wolbachia-infected field-collected Ae. albopictus was estimated to be 98.6% (N = 142) for females and 95.1% (N = 102) for males in the population studied. The Ae. albopictus were naturally infected with both wAlbA and wAlbB strains. We also found that the native Wolbachia has no impact on CHIKV infection and minimal effect on CHIKV dissemination to secondary organs.

MeSH terms: Aedes/microbiology*; Aedes/virology*; Animals; Chikungunya virus/isolation & purification*; Female; Male; Mosquito Control; Phylogeny; Wolbachia/isolation & purification*
Fulltext Travelling Wave Pulse Coupled Oscillator (TWPCO) Using a Self-Organizing Scheme for Energy-Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks

Al-Mekhlafi ZG, Hanapi ZM, Othman M, Zukarnain ZA

PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0167423.
PMID: 28056020 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167423

Recently, Pulse Coupled Oscillator (PCO)-based travelling waves have attracted substantial attention by researchers in wireless sensor network (WSN) synchronization. Because WSNs are generally artificial occurrences that mimic natural phenomena, the PCO utilizes firefly synchronization of attracting mating partners for modelling the WSN. However, given that sensor nodes are unable to receive messages while transmitting data packets (due to deafness), the PCO model may not be efficient for sensor network modelling. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposed a new scheme called the Travelling Wave Pulse Coupled Oscillator (TWPCO). For this, the study used a self-organizing scheme for energy-efficient WSNs that adopted travelling wave biologically inspired network systems based on phase locking of the PCO model to counteract deafness. From the simulation, it was found that the proposed TWPCO scheme attained a steady state after a number of cycles. It also showed superior performance compared to other mechanisms, with a reduction in the total energy consumption of 25%. The results showed that the performance improved by 13% in terms of data gathering. Based on the results, the proposed scheme avoids the deafness that occurs in the transmit state in WSNs and increases the data collection throughout the transmission states in WSNs.

MeSH terms: Algorithms; Computer Communication Networks*; Models, Theoretical; Wireless Technology/instrumentation*
Fulltext Prediction of Hexaconazole Concentration in the Top Most Layer of Oil Palm Plantation Soil Using Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)

Maznah Z, Halimah M, Shitan M, Kumar Karmokar P, Najwa S

PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0166203.
PMID: 28060816 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166203

Ganoderma boninense is a fungus that can affect oil palm trees and cause a serious disease called the basal stem root (BSR). This disease causes the death of more than 80% of oil palm trees midway through their economic life and hexaconazole is one of the particular fungicides that can control this fungus. Hexaconazole can be applied by the soil drenching method and it will be of interest to know the concentration of the residue in the soil after treatment with respect to time. Hence, a field study was conducted in order to determine the actual concentration of hexaconazole in soil. In the present paper, a new approach that can be used to predict the concentration of pesticides in the soil is proposed. The statistical analysis revealed that the Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) techniques would be appropriate in this study. The EDA techniques were used to fit a robust resistant model and predict the concentration of the residue in the topmost layer of the soil.

MeSH terms: Chromatography, Gas; Climate; Environmental Pollutants; Malaysia; Soil/chemistry*; Triazoles/analysis; Triazoles/chemistry*; Models, Statistical; Arecaceae*
Fulltext Enhancement of Dose Response and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Image of PAGAT Polymer Gel Dosimeter by Adding Silver Nanoparticles

Sabbaghizadeh R, Shamsudin R, Deyhimihaghighi N, Sedghi A

PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0168737.
PMID: 28060829 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168737

In the present study, the normoxic polyacrylamide gelatin and tetrakis hydroxy methyl phosphoniun chloride (PAGAT) polymer gel dosimeters were synthesized with and without the presence of silver (Ag) nanoparticles. The amount of Ag nanoparticles varied from 1 to 3 ml with concentration 3.14 g/l, thus forming two types of PAGAT polymer gel dosimeters before irradiating them with 6 to 25 Gy produced by 1.25-MeV 60Co gamma rays. In this range, the predominant gamma ray interaction with matter is by Compton scattering effect, as the photoelectric absorption effect diminishes. MRI was employed when evaluating the polymerization of the dosimeters and the gray scale of the MRI film was determined via an optical densitometer. Subsequent analyses of optical densities revealed that the extent of polymerization increased with the increase in the absorbed dose, while the increase of penetration depth within the dosimeters has a reverse effect. Moreover, a significant increase in the optical density-dose response (11.82%) was noted for dosimeters containing 2 ml Ag nanoparticles.

MeSH terms: Acrylic Resins*; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation*; Humans; Organophosphorus Compounds*; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; Silver
Fulltext Attitudes and Readiness of Students of Healthcare Professions towards Interprofessional Learning

Maharajan MK, Rajiah K, Khoo SP, Chellappan DK, De Alwis R, Chui HC, et al.

PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0168863.
PMID: 28060838 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168863

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the attitudes and readiness of students of healthcare professions towards interprofessional learning.
METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study design was used. Two different scales were used to measure the readiness for and perception of interprofessional learning; these were the 'Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale' and the 'Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale'. A convenience sampling method was employed. The sample was drawn from undergraduate students enrolled in years 1 to 5 of medical, dental, pharmacy and health sciences programme. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.
RESULTS: The overall response rate was 83%. The students mentioned that shared learning with other healthcare professional students will increase their ability to understand clinical problems. The students also mentioned that such shared learning will help them to communicate better with patients and other professionals. The students preferred to work with individuals from their own profession. Participants from medical, dental, pharmacy, and health sciences had a difference in opinion about 'negative professional identity', a domain of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. Based on the different year of study of the students, 'team work and collaboration', 'negative professional identity' and 'roles and responsibility' were the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale domains where students had a difference in opinion.
CONCLUSIONS: Attitudes and readiness towards interprofessional learning showed significant differences among students of various healthcare professions; these differences also depended on the students' year of study. Interprofessional learning should be incorporated in the curriculum of all healthcare professional programs, which may foster students to become competent healthcare providers and understand each profession's role.

MeSH terms: Attitude of Health Personnel*; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Learning*; Malaysia/epidemiology; Perception; Surveys and Questionnaires; Students, Health Occupations/psychology*; Students, Health Occupations/statistics & numerical data*; Interdisciplinary Studies*
Fulltext What do men want from a health screening mobile app? A qualitative study

Teo CH, Ng CJ, White A

PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0169435.
PMID: 28060953 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169435

There is a lack of mobile app which aims to improve health screening uptake developed for men. As part of the study to develop an effective mobile app to increase health screening uptake in men, we conducted a needs assessment to find out what do men want from a health screening mobile app. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 31 men from a banking institution in Kuala Lumpur. The participants were purposely sampled according to their job position, age, ethnicity and screening status. The recruitment was stopped once data saturation was achieved. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic approach. Three themes emerged from the analysis and they were: content, feature and dissemination. In terms of the content, men wanted the app to provide information regarding health screening and functions that can assess their health; which must be personalized to them and are trustable. The app must have user-friendly features in terms of information delivery, ease of use, attention allocation and social connectivity. For dissemination, men proposed that advertisements, recommendations by health professionals, providing incentive and integrating the app as into existing systems may help to increase the dissemination of the app. This study identified important factors that need to be considered when developing a mobile app to improve health screening uptake. Future studies on mobile app development should elicit users' preference and need in terms of its content, features and dissemination strategies to improve the acceptability and the chance of successful implementation.

MeSH terms: Advertising as Topic; Attention; Ethnic Groups; Health Facilities; Health Personnel; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Motivation; Focus Groups; Needs Assessment; Trust; Qualitative Research; Mobile Applications
Fulltext An Empirical Analysis of Rough Set Categorical Clustering Techniques

Uddin J, Ghazali R, Deris MM

PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0164803.
PMID: 28068344 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164803

Clustering a set of objects into homogeneous groups is a fundamental operation in data mining. Recently, many attentions have been put on categorical data clustering, where data objects are made up of non-numerical attributes. For categorical data clustering the rough set based approaches such as Maximum Dependency Attribute (MDA) and Maximum Significance Attribute (MSA) has outperformed their predecessor approaches like Bi-Clustering (BC), Total Roughness (TR) and Min-Min Roughness(MMR). This paper presents the limitations and issues of MDA and MSA techniques on special type of data sets where both techniques fails to select or faces difficulty in selecting their best clustering attribute. Therefore, this analysis motivates the need to come up with better and more generalize rough set theory approach that can cope the issues with MDA and MSA. Hence, an alternative technique named Maximum Indiscernible Attribute (MIA) for clustering categorical data using rough set indiscernible relations is proposed. The novelty of the proposed approach is that, unlike other rough set theory techniques, it uses the domain knowledge of the data set. It is based on the concept of indiscernibility relation combined with a number of clusters. To show the significance of proposed approach, the effect of number of clusters on rough accuracy, purity and entropy are described in the form of propositions. Moreover, ten different data sets from previously utilized research cases and UCI repository are used for experiments. The results produced in tabular and graphical forms shows that the proposed MIA technique provides better performance in selecting the clustering attribute in terms of purity, entropy, iterations, time, accuracy and rough accuracy.

MeSH terms: Attention; Motivation; Names; Cluster Analysis; Entropy; Data Mining
Fulltext Effect of tualang honey against KA-induced oxidative stress and neurodegeneration in the cortex of rats

Mohd Sairazi NS, K N S S, Asari MA, Mummedy S, Muzaimi M, Sulaiman SA

BMC Complement Altern Med, 2017 Jan 09;17(1):31.
PMID: 28068984 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-016-1534-x

Administration of KA on rodents has resulted in seizures, behavioral changes, oxidative stress, and neuronal degeneration on selective population of neurons in the brain. The present study was undertaken to investigate the extent of neuroprotective effect conferred by Malaysian Tualang Honey (TH), an antioxidant agent, in the cerebral cortex of rats against KA-induced oxidative stress and neurodegeneration in an animal model of KA-induced excitotoxicity.

MeSH terms: Animals; Antioxidants/pharmacology; Brain/cytology; Brain/drug effects; Cerebral Cortex/drug effects; Cerebral Cortex/metabolism*; Honey/analysis*; Humans; Kainic Acid/toxicity*; Male; Neurons/drug effects*; Neurons/physiology; Seizures/chemically induced; Seizures/drug therapy*; Seizures/metabolism; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Oxidative Stress/drug effects*; Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology*; Rats
Fulltext Predator personality and prey behavioural predictability jointly determine foraging performance

Chang CC, Teo HY, Norma-Rashid Y, Li D

Sci Rep, 2017 01 17;7:40734.
PMID: 28094288 DOI: 10.1038/srep40734

Predator-prey interactions play important roles in ecological communities. Personality, consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, of predators, prey or both are known to influence inter-specific interactions. An individual may also behave differently under the same situation and the level of such variability may differ between individuals. Such intra-individual variability (IIV) or predictability may be a trait on which selection can also act. A few studies have revealed the joint effect of personality types of both predators and prey on predator foraging performance. However, how personality type and IIV of both predators and prey jointly influence predator foraging performance remains untested empirically. Here, we addressed this using a specialized spider-eating jumping spider, Portia labiata (Salticidae), as the predator, and a jumping spider, Cosmophasis umbratica, as the prey. We examined personality types and IIVs of both P. labiata and C. umbratica and used their inter- and intra-individual behavioural variation as predictors of foraging performance (i.e., number of attempts to capture prey). Personality type and predictability had a joint effect on predator foraging performance. Aggressive predators performed better in capturing unpredictable (high IIV) prey than predictable (low IIV) prey, while docile predators demonstrated better performance when encountering predictable prey. This study highlights the importance of the joint effect of both predator and prey personality types and IIVs on predator-prey interactions.

MeSH terms: Aggression; Animals; Predatory Behavior*; Spiders*
Fulltext Diversity and carbon storage across the tropical forest biome

Sullivan MJ, Talbot J, Lewis SL, Phillips OL, Qie L, Begne SK, et al.

Sci Rep, 2017 01 17;7:39102.
PMID: 28094794 DOI: 10.1038/srep39102

Tropical forests are global centres of biodiversity and carbon storage. Many tropical countries aspire to protect forest to fulfil biodiversity and climate mitigation policy targets, but the conservation strategies needed to achieve these two functions depend critically on the tropical forest tree diversity-carbon storage relationship. Assessing this relationship is challenging due to the scarcity of inventories where carbon stocks in aboveground biomass and species identifications have been simultaneously and robustly quantified. Here, we compile a unique pan-tropical dataset of 360 plots located in structurally intact old-growth closed-canopy forest, surveyed using standardised methods, allowing a multi-scale evaluation of diversity-carbon relationships in tropical forests. Diversity-carbon relationships among all plots at 1 ha scale across the tropics are absent, and within continents are either weak (Asia) or absent (Amazonia, Africa). A weak positive relationship is detectable within 1 ha plots, indicating that diversity effects in tropical forests may be scale dependent. The absence of clear diversity-carbon relationships at scales relevant to conservation planning means that carbon-centred conservation strategies will inevitably miss many high diversity ecosystems. As tropical forests can have any combination of tree diversity and carbon stocks both require explicit consideration when optimising policies to manage tropical carbon and biodiversity.

MeSH terms: Africa; Asia; Brazil; Carbon; Climate; Trees; Ecosystem; Biomass; Biodiversity; Forests
Fulltext Enhanced memory in Wistar rats by virgin coconut oil is associated with increased antioxidative, cholinergic activities and reduced oxidative stress

Rahim NS, Lim SM, Mani V, Abdul Majeed AB, Ramasamy K

Pharm Biol, 2017 Dec;55(1):825-832.
PMID: 28118770 DOI: 10.1080/13880209.2017.1280688

CONTEXT: Virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been reported to possess antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-stress properties.
OBJECTIVE: Capitalizing on these therapeutic effects, this study investigated for the first time the potential of VCO on memory improvement in vivo.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats (7-8 weeks old) were randomly assigned to five groups (n = six per group). Treatment groups were administered with 1, 5 and 10 g/kg VCO for 31 days by oral gavages. The cognitive function of treated-rats were assessed using the Morris Water Maze Test. Brains were removed, homogenized and subjected to biochemical analyses of acetylcholine (ACh) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRx)], lipid peroxidase [malondialdehyde (MDA)] as well as nitric oxide (NO). α-Tocopherol (αT; 150 mg/kg) was also included for comparison purposes.
RESULTS: VCO-fed Wistar rats exhibited significant (p 33%) and NO (≥ 34%). Overall, memory improvement by VCO was comparable to αT.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: VCO has the potential to be used as a memory enhancer, the effect of which was mediated, at least in part, through enhanced cholinergic activity, increased antioxidants level and reduced oxidative stress.

MeSH terms: Acetylcholine/analysis; Animals; Antioxidants/pharmacology*; Cognition/drug effects; Male; Memory/drug effects*; Motor Activity/drug effects; Plant Oils/pharmacology*; Rats, Wistar; Oxidative Stress/drug effects*; Cholinergic Agents/pharmacology*; Rats
Phytosterols isolated from Clinacanthus nutans induce immunosuppressive activity in murine cells

Le CF, Kailaivasan TH, Chow SC, Abdullah Z, Ling SK, Fang CM

Int Immunopharmacol, 2017 Mar;44:203-210.
PMID: 28119186 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2017.01.013

Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau is a traditional medicinal plant belonging to the Acanthaceae family. Its therapeutic potentials have been increasingly documented particularly the antiviral activity against Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. However, majority of these studies used crude or fractionated extracts and not much is known about individual compounds from these extracts and their biological activities. In the present study, we have isolated four compounds (CN1, CN2, CN3 and CN4) from the hexane fractions of C. nutans leaves. Using NMR spectroscopic analysis, these compounds were identified to be shaftoside (CN1), stigmasterol (CN2), β-sitosterol (CN3) and a triterpenoid lupeol (CN4). To determine the immunosuppressive potential of these compounds, their effects on mitogens induced T and B lymphocyte proliferation and the secretion of helper T cell cytokines were examined. Among the four compounds, stigmasterol (CN2) and β-sitosterol (CN3) were shown to readily inhibit T cell proliferation mediated by Concanavalin A (ConA). However, only β-sitosterol (CN3) and not stigmasterol (CN2) blocks the secretion of T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10). Both compounds have no effect on the secretion of Th1 cytokines (IL-2 and IFN-γ), suggesting that β-sitosterol treatment selectively suppresses Th2 activity and promotes a Th1 bias. CN3 was also found to significantly reduce the proliferation of both T helper cells (CD4(+)CD25(+)) and cytotoxic T cells (CD8(+)CD25(+)) following T cell activation induced by ConA. These results suggested that phytosterols isolated from C. nutans possess immunomodulatory effects with potential development as immunotherapeutics.

MeSH terms: Animals; B-Lymphocytes/drug effects*; B-Lymphocytes/immunology; Cells, Cultured; Immunosuppression; Lymphocyte Activation/drug effects; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Phytosterols/isolation & purification; Phytosterols/pharmacology*; Plant Extracts/isolation & purification; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/drug effects*; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology; Cytokines/metabolism; Th1 Cells/drug effects*; Th1 Cells/immunology; Th2 Cells/drug effects*; Th2 Cells/immunology; Plant Leaves; Acanthaceae/immunology*; Cell Proliferation/drug effects; Mice
Fulltext Molecular epidemiology demonstrates that imported and local strains circulated during the 2014 dengue outbreak in Guangzhou, China

Li G, Pan P, He Q, Kong X, Wu K, Zhang W, et al.

Virol Sin, 2017 Feb;32(1):63-72.
PMID: 28120220 DOI: 10.1007/s12250-016-3872-8

The dengue virus (DENV) is a vital global public health issue. The 2014 dengue epidemic in Guangzhou, China, caused approximately 40,000 cases of infection and five deaths. We carried out a comprehensive investigation aimed at identifying the transmission sources in this dengue epidemic. To analyze the phylogenetics of the 2014 dengue strains, the envelope (E) gene sequences from 17 viral strains isolated from 168 dengue patient serum samples were sequenced and a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed. All 17 strains were serotype I strains, including 8 genotype I and 9 genotype V strains. Additionally, 6 genotype I strains that were probably introduced to China from Thailand before 2009 were widely transmitted in the 2013 and 2014 epidemics, and they continued to circulate until 2015, with one affinis strain being found in Singapore. The other 2 genotype I strains were introduced from the Malaya Peninsula in 2014. The transmission source of the 9 genotype V strains was from Malaysia in 2014. DENVs of different serotypes and genotypes co-circulated in the 2014 dengue outbreak in Guangzhou. Moreover, not only had DENV been imported to Guangzhou, but it had also been gradually exported, as the viruses exhibited an enzootic transmission cycle in Guangzhou.

MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; China/epidemiology; Dengue/epidemiology*; Dengue/virology*; Dengue Virus/classification*; Dengue Virus/genetics*; Dengue Virus/isolation & purification; Disease Outbreaks*; Female; Genotype*; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Viral Envelope Proteins/genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Molecular Epidemiology; Young Adult; Serogroup
Identification and future description of warming signatures over Pakistan with special emphasis on evolution of CO2 levels and temperature during the first decade of the twenty-first century

Haider K, Khokhar MF, Chishtie F, RazzaqKhan W, Hakeem KR

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2017 Mar;24(8):7617-7629.
PMID: 28120226 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-016-8359-5

Like other developing countries, Pakistan is also facing changes in temperature per decade and other climatic abnormalities like droughts and torrential rains. In order to assess and identify the extent of temperature change over Pakistan, the whole Pakistan was divided into five climatic zones ranging from very cold to hot and dry climates. Similarly, seasons in Pakistan are defined on the basis of monsoon variability as winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon. This study primarily focuses on the comparison of surface temperature observations from Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) network with PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies) model simulations. Results indicate that PRECIS underestimates the temperature in Northern Pakistan and during the winter season. However, there exists a fair agreement between PRECIS output and observed datasets in the lower plain and hot areas of the country. An absolute increase of 0.07 °C is observed in the mean temperature over Pakistan during the time period of 1951-2010. Especially, the increase is more significant (0.7 °C) during the last 14 years (1997-2010). Moreover, SCIAMACHY observations were used to explore the evolution of atmospheric CO2 levels in comparison to temperature over Pakistan. CO2 levels have shown an increasing trend during the first decade of the twenty-first century.

MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Carbon Dioxide/analysis*; Climate; Environmental Monitoring; Models, Theoretical; Pakistan; Seasons; Temperature; Climate Change*
Heterogeneity in cancer cells: variation in drug response in different primary and secondary colorectal cancer cell lines in vitro

Arul M, Roslani AC, Cheah SH

In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim, 2017 May;53(5):435-447.
PMID: 28120247 DOI: 10.1007/s11626-016-0126-x

Tumor heterogeneity may give rise to differential responses to chemotherapy drugs. Therefore, unraveling tumor heterogeneity has an implication for biomarker discovery and cancer therapeutics. To test this phenomenon, we investigated the differential responses of three secondary colorectal cancer cell lines of different origins (HCT116, HT29, and SW620 cells) and four novel primary cell lines obtained from different colorectal cancer patients to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin (L-OHP) and explored the differences in gene expression among the primary cell lines in response to exposure to cytotoxic drugs. Cells were exposed to different doses of 5-FU and L-OHP separately or in combinations of equitoxic drug or equimolar drug ratios (median effect of Chou-Talalay principle). Cell viability was assessed using MTT assay and the respective IC50values were determined. Changes in gene expression in primary cell lines after exposure to the same drug doses were compared using real-time PCR array. The sensitivities (IC50) of different cell lines, both secondary and primary, to 5-FU and L-OHP were significantly different, whether in monotherapy or combined treatment. Primary cell lines needed higher doses to reach IC50. There were variations in gene expression among the primary cell lines of different chemosensitivities to the challenge of the same combined dose of 5-FU and L-OHP. The results confirm the heterogeneous nature of colorectal cancer cells from different patient tumors. Studies using primary cancer cells established from patient's tumors rather than secondary cell lines will more closely reflect the actual character of the disease.

MeSH terms: Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/administration & dosage; Cell Cycle/drug effects; Fluorouracil/administration & dosage; Humans; Organoplatinum Compounds/administration & dosage; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy*; Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology; Apoptosis/drug effects*; Genetic Heterogeneity/drug effects*; HT29 Cells; HCT116 Cells; Biomarkers, Pharmacological*; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

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