Browse publications by year: 2018

  1. Thalha AM, Mahadeva S, Boon Tan AT, Mun KS
    JGH Open, 2018 Oct;2(5):242-245.
    PMID: 30483596 DOI: 10.1002/jgh3.12083
    A 33-year-old man was referred with hyperosmotic symptoms of 4 weeks. Clinical examination showed palpable hepatomegaly and no stigmata of liver disease. Findings were random glucose 16.6 mmol/L, HbA1c 12.4%, triglyceride 6.2 mmol/L, normal LFTs and ultrasound liver: increased echogenicity. Management consisted of dietician referral and commencement of metformin 500 mg bd, diamicron MR 60 mg od, and fenofibrate 145 mg od. He was non-compliant, complaining of "heaviness of head" after consuming oral diabetic agents, without symptoms of hypoglycemia. Treatment was switched to Kombiglyze XR (saxaglipitin 5 mg + metformin 1000 mg) and empagliflozin 25 mg od. He presented 1 week later with generalised pruritus with ALT 307 IU/L and serum GGT 808 IU/L. Following this, a percutaneous liver biopsy was performed, revealing steatohepatitis and marked intra-hepatic cholestasis. Kombiglyze XR was withheld, with resolution of LFTs to baseline. Phenotypes of liver injury are categorised according to R value, defined as ratio ALT/ULN:ALP/ULN. R value of ≥5:hepatocellular injury, ≤2:cholestatic injury, 2-5:mixed-type injury. Here, R value points toward mixed type (R = 3.203). Hepatotoxicity in patients with NASH is difficult to diagnose, based on laboratory parameters. Liver histology was useful in indicating additional changes apart from NASH, causing liver derangement. The Rousal Uclaf Causality Assessment Method is a scoring method to determine the probability of drug induced liver injury. RUCAM score for this case was 6 (probable adverse drug reaction). Hepatotoxicity from saxagliptin not been reported prior. Clinicians need to be more vigilant, particularly in patients with NASH.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Dipeptides; Gliclazide; Glucose; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Hepatomegaly; Humans; Liver Function Tests; Liver Neoplasms; Male; Metformin; Fenofibrate; Research Design; Nutritionists; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
  2. Wang Z, Lu B, Jin X, Yan J, Meng H, Zhu B
    Forensic Sci Res, 2018;3(2):145-152.
    PMID: 30483663 DOI: 10.1080/20961790.2018.1485199
    China is a multinational country composed of 56 ethnic groups of which the Han Chinese accounts for 91.60%. Qinghai Province is located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has an area of 72.12 km2, and is the fourth largest province in China. In the present study, we investigated the genetic polymorphisms of 20 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in a Qinghai Han population, as well as its genetic relationships with other populations. A total of 273 alleles were identified in 2 000 individuals at 20 loci, and the allelic frequency ranged from 0.000 2 to 0.532 7. The 20 STR loci showed a relatively high polymorphic rate in the studied group. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged 0.613 0-0.907 5 and 0.614 8-0.920 0, respectively. The combined power of discrimination, and the probability of exclusion in duo and trio cases were 0.999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 34, 0.999 996 0 and 0.999 999 996 5, respectively. Analyses of interpopulation differentiation revealed that the most significant differences were found between the Qinghai Han and Malaysian, while no significant differences were found between the Qinghai Han and Han people from Shaanxi and Jiangsu. The results of principal component analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis and phylogenetic reconstructions also suggested the close relationships between the Qinghai Han and other two Han populations. The present results, therefore, indicated that these 20 STR loci could be used for paternity testing and individual identification in forensic applications, and may also provide information for the studies of genetic relationships between Qinghai Han and other groups.
  3. Soh HY, Fauzi AA, Nazimi AJ, Ramli R
    Oral Radiol, 2018 05;34(2):179-184.
    PMID: 30484126 DOI: 10.1007/s11282-017-0282-z
    The most conspicuous element of Gorham's disease is its radiographic features, wherein massive disappearance of the mandible is observed. We report a case of an adolescent boy with massive osteolysis of the mandible in whom the diagnosis of Gorham's disease was made. A 14-year-old boy was referred to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, for the management of a massive mandibular deformity. He was diagnosed with a hemangioma-like lesion at 1 year of age. The disease had progressed for an unknown number of years. Plain X-rays and computed tomography images were examined for reconstructive surgery planning. Gorham's disease is self-limiting, but has catastrophic results. The role of imaging is huge, particularly for reconstructive surgery planning.
    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Male; Radiography, Panoramic; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  4. Aminuddin A, Tan I, Butlin M, Avolio AP, Kiat H, Barin E, et al.
    PLoS One, 2018;13(11):e0207301.
    PMID: 30485318 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207301
    Finger photoplethysmography (PPG) is a noninvasive method that measures blood volume changes in the finger. The PPG fitness index (PPGF) has been proposed as an index of vascular risk and vascular aging. The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of heart rate (HR) on the PPGF and to determine whether PPGF is influenced by blood pressure (BP) changes. Twenty subjects (78±8 years, 3 female) with permanent cardiac pacemakers or cardioverter defibrillators were prospectively recruited. HR was changed by pacing, in a random order from 60 to 100 bpm and in 10 bpm increments. At each paced HR, the PPGF was derived from a finger photoplethysmogram. Cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were derived from the finger arterial pressure waveform. Brachial blood pressure (BP) was measured by the oscillometric method. This study found that as HR was increased from 60 to 100 bpm, brachial diastolic BP, brachial mean BP and CO were significantly increased (p<0.01), whilst the PPGF and SV were significantly decreased (p<0.001). The effects of HR on the PPGF were influenced by BP, with a decreasing HR effect on the PPGF that resulted from a higher BP. In conclusion, HR was a significant confounder for PPGF and it must be taken into account in analyses of PPGF, when there are large changes or differences in the HR. The magnitude of this effect was BP dependent.
    MeSH terms: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Blood Pressure*; Female; Fingers*; Heart Rate*; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pacemaker, Artificial*; Stroke Volume*; Vascular Resistance*; Defibrillators, Implantable*; Photoplethysmography*
  5. Safi SZ, Shah H, Qvist R, Bindal P, Mansor M, Yan GOS, et al.
    Cell Physiol Biochem, 2018;51(3):1429-1436.
    PMID: 30485834 DOI: 10.1159/000495591
    BACKGROUND/AIMS: NF-κB induces transcription of a number of genes, associated with inflammation and apoptosis. In this study, we have investigated the effect of β-adrenergic receptor stimulation on NF-κB and IκBα in HUVECs.

    METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured in high and low glucose concentrations. All HUVECs were treated with different concentrations of isoproterenol and propranolol for different time periods. The analytical procedures consisted of Western Blot, ELISA, DCFH-DA and TUNEL assays.

    RESULTS: Isoproterenol (agonist of a beta-adrenergic receptor) significantly reduced phosphorylation at Ser-536 of NF-κB; and Ser-32 and Ser-36 of IκBα in hyperglycemic HUVECs. Isoproterenol also significantly reduced apoptosis and ROS generation. No effect of IκBα was observed on Tyr-42 phosphorylation. The effect of isoproterenol was reversed by the antagonist propranolol. We also checked if NF-κB inhibitor MG132 causes any change at the level of apoptosis. However, we observed an almost similar effect.

    CONCLUSION: Given data demonstrates that beta-adrenergic receptors stimulation has a protective effect on HUVECs that might be occuring via NF-κβ and IκBα pathway.

    MeSH terms: Adrenergic beta-Agonists/pharmacology*; Humans; Hyperglycemia/drug therapy; Hyperglycemia/immunology*; Inflammation/drug therapy; Inflammation/immunology*; Isoproterenol/pharmacology*; Phosphorylation/drug effects; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta/immunology; Signal Transduction/drug effects; NF-kappa B/immunology*; Apoptosis/drug effects; Endothelial Cells/drug effects*; Endothelial Cells/immunology; Endothelial Cells/pathology; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; NF-KappaB Inhibitor alpha/immunology*
  6. Regional Nutrition Working Group (RNWG), Ng DHL, Albay A, Chew STH, Glencorse C, Inciong JF, et al.
    Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2018 11 30;27(6):1161-1174.
    PMID: 30485913 DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.201811_27(6).0001
    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition is under-recognized and under-treated in Asia due to resource constraints, lack of awareness and knowledge among healthcare professionals and patients, and lack of standardized procedures for malnutrition management. While international guidelines for the management of malnutrition are available, they may not be easily applicable to the patient population and healthcare settings within Southeast Asia. This paper provides consensus recommendations, developed by the Regional Nutrition Working Group, to foster evidence-based nutritional care in Southeast Asia to improve patient outcomes.

    METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: The group convened and discussed evidence-based recommendations and clinical experiences in the management of malnutrition in hospitalized and community-dwelling adults, and the relevance of oral nutritional supplements in clinical practice. Supported by a literature search from January 2007-September 2017, consensus statements on key aspects of malnutrition management were developed.

    RESULTS: Malnutrition management should be considered as an integral part of patient care and managed by a multidisciplinary team. Hospitalized patients and outpatients should be screened for risk of malnutrition with validated tools. Nutrition intervention, including oral, enteral, or parenteral nutrition, should be accessible and individualized to all patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Education on nutrition care is imperative for healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers.

    CONCLUSION: These consensus recommendations provide practical guidance to improve nutrition practice within healthcare in Southeast Asia. With collaborative efforts from the clinical community, professional societies and policy makers, this regional effort may also facilitate change in the nutrition practice at the institutional and national level.

    MeSH terms: Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Patient Care; Health Personnel; Humans; Outpatients; Parenteral Nutrition; Patient Care Team; Caregivers; Nutritional Support; Consensus; Malnutrition
  7. Quah ESH, Wood PLJ, Grismer LL, Sah SAM
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 05;4514(1):53-64.
    PMID: 30485952 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4514.1.4
    The taxonomic position of the rare Selangor Mud Snake (Raclitia indica) Gray to other species of homalopsids has remained uncertain due to the scarcity of specimens in collections and the lack of genetic material for comparison. Here we report the first molecular phylogenetic examination of this species based on recently acquired material. The study recovered R. indica nested within the clade of advanced, fanged homalopsids and the sister species to Erpeton tentaculatus Lácèpede. We also present notes on variation observed in the new specimens as well as range extensions for the species.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Malaysia; Phylogeny*; Colubridae*
  8. Zuha RM, Disney RHL
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 02;4508(4):551-561.
    PMID: 30485963 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4508.4.3
    Megaselia bangiensis Disney sp. nov., M. cumpapillarum Disney sp. nov., M. hyplongiseta Disney sp. nov. and M. selangorensis Disney sp. nov. were collected from rabbit carcasses placed in concealed environments in Bangi, Malaysia.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Cadaver; Diptera*; Malaysia; Rabbits
  9. Ng PKL, Grinang J
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 02;4508(4):569-575.
    PMID: 30485965 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4508.4.5
    A new species of semiterrestrial highland vampire crab of the family Sesarmidae, Geosesarma larsi n. sp., is described from western Sarawak. This brings the number of Bornean Geosesarma species to 12. Geosesarma larsi n. sp. is distinguished from congeners by the structures of the carapace, third maxilliped exopod and gonopods, as well as the proportions of its ambulatory legs. The colour pattern in life is also strikingly different from allied species. Notes on its ecology are provided and conservation threats briefly discussed.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Brachyura*; Ecology; Malaysia
  10. JÄger P
    Zootaxa, 2018 Oct 26;4504(4):524-544.
    PMID: 30486007 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4504.4.5
    The genus Systaria Simon 1897 is reviewed in Southeast Asia and eight new species are described: S. lannops spec. nov. from Thailand (female), S. longinqua spec. nov. (male, female) and S. luangprabang spec. nov. (female) from Laos, S. procera spec. nov. (male, female) and S. bregibec spec. nov. (male) from Cambodia, S. bifidops spec. nov. from Malaysia (male), S. panay spec. nov. (female) and S. princesa spec. nov. (male, female) from Philippines. S. elberti (Strand 1913) is illustrated and partly re-described. Informal groups of species are proposed for the first time. Distribution ranges and habitat preferences are mapped.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Cambodia; Female; Laos; Malaysia; Male; Philippines; Spiders*; Thailand; Caves*; Animal Distribution; Forests
  11. Grebennikov VV
    Zootaxa, 2018 Oct 16;4500(3):363-380.
    PMID: 30486068 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4500.3.4
    This paper reports a new weevil genus Devernodes gen. n. established for five new species from Southeast Asia: D. alkippe sp. n. (China: Mt. Emei), D. asteria sp. n. (Vietnam: Tam Dao), D. chthonia sp. n. (Vietnam: Tam Dao; the type species), D. drimo sp. n. (Malaysia: Pasoh Forest Reserve) and D. methone sp. n. (Malaysia: Tanah Rata). All Devernodes are wingless and inhabit the forest leaf litter. Adult Devernodes share a combination of two head characters unique among weevils in Asia: antenna with apparently unsegmented club and 6-segmented antennal funicle, as well as strong constriction separating the eye-bearing rostrum from the head capsule. To test monophyly and investigate phylogenetic relationships of Devernodes, Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis was undertaken using parts of mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear ribosomal (28S) genes, as well as the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) from 14 Devernodes and 55 outgroup Curculionidae specimens. Results strongly corroborated monophyly of Devernodes and did not suggest its realistic sister-group. The new genus is assigned to the molytine tribe Lymantini (not represented in the DNA analysis) based on two potential synapomorphies: head markedly constricted behind eyes and presence of undivided female hemisternites IX (= "merged coxite and stylus"). Thus interpreted, Devernodes is the twelfth nominal genus of Lymantini and the first record of the tribe outside of the Americas. All original data (localities, DNA sequences, specimen images) are available online in public datasets dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-DEVERNO1 and dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-DEVERNO2.
    MeSH terms: Americas; Animals; Asia; Beetles*; China; Female; Malaysia; Phylogeny; Vietnam; Weevils*; Animal Distribution
  12. Takaoka H, Ya'cob Z, Sofian-Azirun M
    Zootaxa, 2018 Oct 12;4498(1):1-65.
    PMID: 30486086 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4498.1.1
    The classification, annotated list and keys for the black fly species from Peninsular Malaysia are updated. The number of black fly species increased from 38 in 1995 to 62 (including a new species herein described) in 2018. The 62 species are classified in four subgenera of the genus Simulium: one species in Daviesellum, 35 species in Gomphostilbia, five species in Nevermannia and 21 species in Simulium. Species in the latter three subgenera are further placed in species-groups or subgroups. Keys are provided for females, males, pupae and mature larvae. Simulium (S.) perakense sp. nov. is described and placed in the S. striatum species-group. The males of S. (G.) decuplum, S. (G.) tahanense, S. (S.) malayense, the female of S. (G.) adleri, and the female and larva of S. (G.) varicorne are described for the first time. The female, male, pupa and larva of S. (G.) trangense, the male and pupa of S. (G.) varicorne and the pupa of S. (G.) adleri are redescribed. Simulium (G.) sp. A is identified as S. (G.) pegalanense. Brief notes for each species are given on morphological characteristics, aquatic habitats and geographical distributions.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Female; Larva; Malaysia; Male; Pupa*; Simuliidae*; Ecosystem
  13. Takaoka H, Saito K, Adler PH, Baba M
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 23;4524(4):489-495.
    PMID: 30486108 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4524.4.6
    A new species of black fly, Prosimulium kazukii, is described based on female, male and pupal specimens collected from central Honshu, Japan. It is placed in the Prosimulium magnum species-group, and is characterized in the female and male by yellow thoraces, and in the pupa by the frons and dorsal surface of the thorax without distinct tubercles. By these characters, it is distinguished from all four related species (P. apoina Ono, P. kalibaense Ono, P. sarurense Ono, and P. yezoense Shiraki) of the same species-group in Japan. The female of this new species was previously known as an aberrant form of P. yezoense.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Color; Female; Head; Japan; Larva; Male; Pupa*; Simuliidae*
  14. Kundrata R, Sormova E
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 20;4524(1):132-138.
    PMID: 30486135 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4524.1.10
    Platiana Schimmel, 1993 is a moderately large genus in Dimini endemic to South East Asia. Hitherto only four species of this genus were known from Peninsular Malaysia. Here, we describe and figure Platiana cechovskyi sp. nov. from the Cameron Highlands. This species is characteristic by its relatively small body, dark coloration, and strongly serrate antennae which are rarely encountered in Dimini. An identification key to the Platiana species from Peninsular Malaysia as well as a distribution map for all known species are provided.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Asia, Southeastern; Beetles*; Humans; Malaysia; Animal Distribution
  15. Yamasaki T, Hashimoto Y, Endo T, Hyodo F, Itioka T, Meleng P
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 14;4521(3):335-356.
    PMID: 30486151 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4521.3.2
    The genus Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839 (Araneae: Salticidae) is one of the most diversified salticid groups in Southeast Asia, with 23 species previously recorded from Borneo. Based on the collections accumulated from 2004 to 2014 in the Lambir Hills National Park, we herein describe six new species: M. amabilis sp. nov., M. hashimotoi sp. nov., M. lagarosoma sp. nov., M. leptosoma sp. nov., M. salaputium sp. nov. and M. tintinnabulum sp. nov. In addition, we describe the female of M. endoi Yamasaki Ahmad, 2013 for the first time. The male-female combination in M. amabilis sp. nov., M. tintinnabulum sp. nov. and M. endoi were confirmed by DNA barcoding.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Asia, Southeastern; Borneo; Female; Malaysia; Male; Spiders*
  16. ChŁond D
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 12;4520(1):1-85.
    PMID: 30486182 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4520.1.1
    This paper presents a taxonomic revision of 28 described species of the genus Sirthenea Spinola, 1837 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Peiratinae) distributed in the Afrotropical, Oriental, Palearctic, Oceanian and Australian zoogeographical regions. The following new synonymies are proposed: Sirthenea africana Distant, 1903 = S. rapax Horváth, 1909, syn. nov. = S. leonina Horváth, 1909, syn. nov. = S. bequaerti Schouteden, 1913, syn. nov. = S. leontovitchi Schouteden, 1931, syn. nov.; Sirthenea picescens Reuter, 1887 = S. atrocyanea Horváth, 1909, syn. nov.; S. rodhaini Schouteden, 1913 = S. collarti Schouteden, 1931, syn. nov. = S. angolana Villiers, 1958, syn. nov.; S. flavipes (Stål, 1855) = S. clavata Miller, 1948, syn. nov. = S. bharati Sucheta Chopra, 1988, syn. nov. = S. koreana Kerzhner Lee, 1996 syn. nov. = S. melanota Cai Lu, 1990, syn. nov. = S. nigripes Murugan Livingstone, 1990, syn. nov.; S. obscura (Stål, 1866) = S. glabra (Walker, 1873), syn. nov. A neotype is designated for S. picescens Reuter, 1887. Three species, S. erythromelas (Walker 1873), S. fulvipennis (Walker, 1873) and S. sobria (Walker, 1873), are excluded from the genus Sirthenea. Two new species from the Oriental Region, S. kali sp. nov. (India) and S. setosa sp. nov. (Malaysia) are described. Identification keys are provided for the subgenera and species from each zoogeographical region treated. Drawings of dorsal habitus and genitalic structures, drawings and images of selected morphological characters, and distribution maps of all valid species are presented.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Animal Structures; Australia; Hemiptera; India; Malaysia; Organ Size; Heteroptera*; Reduviidae*; Animal Distribution
  17. Kaiser CM, Kaiser H, O'shea M
    Zootaxa, 2018 Nov 05;4512(1):1-73.
    PMID: 30486224 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4512.1.1
    Since its conceptualization in 1854, 29 species of the colubrid genus Stegonotus have been recognized or described, of which 15 (admiraltiensis, batjanensis, borneensis, cucullatus, derooijae, diehli, florensis, guentheri, iridis, heterurus, melanolabiatus, modestus, muelleri, parvus, poechi) are still considered valid today. Original species descriptions for the members of this genus were published in Dutch, English, French, German, and Italian and, perhaps as a consequence of these polyglot origins, there has been a considerable amount of confusion over which species names should be applied to which populations of Stegonotus throughout its range across Borneo, the Philippines, Wallacea, New Guinea, Australia, and associated archipelagos. In addition, the terminology used to notate characteristics in the descriptions of these forms was not uniform and may have added to the taxonomic confusion. In this paper, we trace in detail the history of the type specimens, the species, and the synonyms currently associated with the genus Stegonotus and provide a basic, species-specific listing of their characteristics, derived from our examination of over 1500 museum specimens. Based on our data, we are able to limit the distribution of S. modestus to the islands of Ambon, Buru, and Seram in the central Moluccas of Indonesian Wallacea. We correct the type locality of S. cucullatus to the Manokwari area on the Bird's Head Peninsula of West Papua, Indonesian New Guinea and designate a neotype for S. parvus, a species likely to be a regional endemic in the Schouten Archipelago of Cenderawasih Bay (formerly Geelvink Bay), Indonesian New Guinea. We unequivocally identify and explain the problematic localities of the type specimens of S. muelleri and Lycodon muelleri, which currently reside in the same specimen jar. We remove L. aruensis and L. lividum from the synonymy of S. modestus and recognize them as S. aruensis n. comb. and S. lividus n. comb., respectively. We remove S. keyensis and Zamenophis australis from the synonymy of S. cucullatus and recognize them as S. keyensis n. comb. and S. australis n. comb., respectively. We further remove S. reticulatus from the synonymy of S. cucullatus, S. dorsalis from the synonymy of S. diehli, and S. sutteri from the synonymy of S. florensis. We designate lectotypes for S. guentheri, S. heterurus, S. lividus, and S. reticulatus. Lastly, we introduce S. poechi, a valid species not mentioned in the scientific literature since its description in 1924. This brings the diversity in the genus Stegonotus to 22 species. We also caution that in a complex group of organisms like Stegonotus any rush to taxonomic judgment on the basis of molecular and incomplete morphological data sets may perpetuate errors and introduce incongruities. Only through the careful work of connecting type material with museum specimens and molecular data can the taxonomy and nomenclature of complex taxa be stabilized.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Colubridae*
  18. Ku Abd Rahim KN, Elamvazuthi I, Izhar LI, Capi G
    Sensors (Basel), 2018 Nov 26;18(12).
    PMID: 30486242 DOI: 10.3390/s18124132
    Increasing interest in analyzing human gait using various wearable sensors, which is known as Human Activity Recognition (HAR), can be found in recent research. Sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes are widely used in HAR. Recently, high interest has been shown in the use of wearable sensors in numerous applications such as rehabilitation, computer games, animation, filmmaking, and biomechanics. In this paper, classification of human daily activities using Ensemble Methods based on data acquired from smartphone inertial sensors involving about 30 subjects with six different activities is discussed. The six daily activities are walking, walking upstairs, walking downstairs, sitting, standing and lying. It involved three stages of activity recognition; namely, data signal processing (filtering and segmentation), feature extraction and classification. Five types of ensemble classifiers utilized are Bagging, Adaboost, Rotation forest, Ensembles of nested dichotomies (END) and Random subspace. These ensemble classifiers employed Support vector machine (SVM) and Random forest (RF) as the base learners of the ensemble classifiers. The data classification is evaluated with the holdout and 10-fold cross-validation evaluation methods. The performance of each human daily activity was measured in terms of precision, recall, F-measure, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. In addition, the performance is also measured based on the comparison of overall accuracy rate of classification between different ensemble classifiers and base learners. It was observed that overall, SVM produced better accuracy rate with 99.22% compared to RF with 97.91% based on a random subspace ensemble classifier.
    MeSH terms: Smartphone*; Algorithms*; Humans; Human Activities; Biosensing Techniques/methods*; Support Vector Machine
  19. Ibrahim MD, Kntayya SB, Mohd Ain N, Iori R, Ioannides C, Abdull Razis AF
    Molecules, 2018 Nov 27;23(12).
    PMID: 30486382 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23123092
    Glucoraphasatin (GRH), a glucosinolate present abundantly in the plants of the Brassicaceae family, is hydrolyzed by myrosinase to raphasatin, which is considered responsible for its cancer chemopreventive activity; however, the underlying mechanisms of action have not been investigated, particularly in human cell lines. The aims of this study are to determine the cytotoxicity of raphasatin, and to evaluate its potential to cause apoptosis and modulate cell cycle arrest in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells. The cytotoxicity was determined following incubation of the cells with glucoraphasatin or raphasatin (0⁻100 µM), for 24, 48, and 72 h. GRH displayed no cytotoxicity as exemplified by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. When myrosinase was added to the incubation system to convert GRH to raphasatin, cytotoxicity was evident. Exposure of the cells to raphasatin stimulated apoptosis, as was exemplified by cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation, and nuclear fragmentation. Moreover, using Annexin V-FITC assay, raphasatin induced apoptosis, as witnessed by changes in cellular distribution of cells, at different stages of apoptosis; in addition, raphasatin caused the arrest of the MCF-7 cells at the G₂ + M phase. In conclusion, raphasatin demonstrated cancer chemopreventive potential against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells, through induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.
    MeSH terms: Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy; Adenocarcinoma/metabolism*; Adenocarcinoma/pathology; Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms/metabolism*; Breast Neoplasms/pathology; Cytotoxins/pharmacology*; Cytotoxins/chemistry; Female; Humans; Apoptosis/drug effects*; Isothiocyanates/pharmacology*; Isothiocyanates/chemistry; G2 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints/drug effects; M Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints/drug effects; MCF-7 Cells
  20. Sim SM, Lai PSM, Tan KM, Lee HG, Sulaiman CZ
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2018 11;30(8):737-749.
    PMID: 30486652 DOI: 10.1177/1010539518811161
    The aim of our study was to develop and validate the return and disposal of unused medications (ReDiUM), as there are currently no validated tools available (worldwide) to assess this. The ReDiUM was developed by an expert panel. It was then administered to community-dwelling adults, who could understand English, at baseline and 2 weeks later. A total of 338/354 participants agreed to participate (response rate = 95.4%). Flesch reading ease was 60. The overall Cronbach's α was 0.703 (range = 0.609-0.762). At test-retest, κ values ranged from 0.244 to 0.523. Median total knowledge score was 60% (interquartile range = 40% to 70%). The majority of participants (94.4%) knew that improper drug disposal has harmful effects on the environment. However, their knowledge was low (11.2%) regarding the disposal of pressurized metered-dose inhalers in the garbage. The ReDiUM was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice on the ReDiUM in Malaysia.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Pharmaceutical Preparations*; Female; Humans; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires*; Refuse Disposal*; Reproducibility of Results; Independent Living
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