Browse publications by year: 2018

  1. Hani Nabilia Muhd Sahimi, Chubo, John Keen, Marina Mohd. Top @ Mohd. Tah, Noor Bahiah Saripuddin, Siti Sarah Ab Rahim
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2018;29(1):139-154.
    MyJurnal
    Tarsius bancanus borneanus (kera hantu) pertama kali dicam oleh Elliot pada
    tahun 1990 merupakan spesies endemik yang boleh ditemui di kepulauan Borneo yang
    terdiri dari Sabah dan Sarawak (Malaysia), Brunei Darussalam dan Kalimantan, Indonesia.
    Sub-spesies ini telah disenaraikan sebagai haiwan yang terlindung sepenuhnya di bawah
    Ordinan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar Sarawak (1998) dan disenaraikan sebagai spesies
    yang terdedah kepada kepupusan oleh IUCN. Kajian ini telah dijalankan di Universiti Putra
    Malaysia Kampus Bintulu Sarawak (UPMKB), dari Oktober 2014 hingga Mac 2015. Menerusi
    persampelan tangkap-lepas yang meliputi kawasan seluas 37 ha hutan sekunder dan 7.13
    ha hutan yang dipulihara, sebanyak 16 ekor kera hantu telah ditangkap menggunakan jaring
    kabut manakala seekor kera hantu telah berjaya ditangkap semula. Kepadatan populasi
    kera hantu yang ditangkap menggunakan jaring kabut di dalam hutan sekunder adalah
    38 individu/km² manakala 28 individu/km² dicatatkan bagi hutan yang dipulihara. Dengan
    menggunakan kaedah penangkapan per satu unit usaha (net-jam), masa purata bagi
    seekor kera hantu ditangkap di dalam hutan sekunder adalah 26.6 jam/haiwan dan 30 jam/
    haiwan di dalam hutan yang dipulihara. Keputusan membuktikan data mengenai kehadiran
    kera hantu di dalam kedua-dua hutan sekunder dan hutan yang dipulihara terutamanya di
    kampus UPMKB sekaligus menonjolkan nilai pemuliharaan kawasan hutan tersebut.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Thoracica; Borneo; Brunei; Indonesia; Malaysia; Methylglycosides; Tarsiidae; Chenopodiaceae
  2. Sellvam, Dharmela, Yahya Mat Arip, Nyok, Sean Lau
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2018;29(1):37-50.
    MyJurnal
    Malaysia is one of the countries that are loaded with mega biodiversity which
    includes microbial communities. Phages constitute the major component in the microbial
    communities and yet the numbers of discovered phages are just a minute fraction of
    its population in the biosphere. Taking into account of a huge numbers of waiting to be
    discovered phages, a new bacteriophage designated as Escherichia phage YD-2008.s
    was successfully isolated using Escherichia coli ATCC 11303 as the host. Phage YD-2008.s poses icosahedral head measured at 57nm in diameter with a long non-contractile
    flexible tail measured at 107nm; proving the phage as one of the members of Siphoviridae
    family under the order of Caudovirales. Genomic sequence analyses revealed phage
    YD-2008.s genome as linear dsDNA of 44,613 base pairs with 54.6% G+C content.
    Sixty-two open reading frames (ORFs) were identified on phage YD-2008.s full genome,
    using bioinformatics annotation software; Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology
    (RAST). Among the ORFs, twenty-eight of them code for functional proteins. Thirty two are
    classified as hypothetical proteins and there are two unidentified proteins. Even though
    majority of the coded putative proteins have high amino acids similarities to phages from the
    genus Hk578likevirus of the Siphoviridae family, yet phage YD-2008.s stands with its’ own
    distinctiveness. Therefore, this is another new finding to Siphoviridae family as well as to the
    growing list of viruses in International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) database.
    MeSH terms: Amino Acids; Bacteriophages; Base Composition; DNA; Escherichia coli; Malaysia; Software; Open Reading Frames; Caudovirales; Siphoviridae; Computational Biology; Base Pairing; Genomics; Biodiversity; Microbiota
  3. Khor BH, Narayanan SS, Chinna K, Gafor AHA, Daud ZAM, Khosla P, et al.
    Nutrients, 2018 Sep 21;10(10).
    PMID: 30248953 DOI: 10.3390/nu10101353
    Blood fatty acids (FAs) are derived from endogenous and dietary routes. Metabolic abnormalities from kidney dysfunction, as well as cross-cultural dietary habits, may alter the FA profile of dialysis patients (DP), leading to detrimental clinical outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to (i) summarize FA status of DP from different countries, (ii) compare blood FA composition between healthy controls and DP, and (iii) evaluate FA profile and clinical endpoints in DP. Fifty-three articles from 1980 onwards, reporting FA profile in hemodialysis and peritoneal DP, were identified from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library. Studies on pediatric, predialysis chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, and transplant patients were excluded. Moderate to high levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were reported in Japan, Korea, Denmark, and Sweden. Compared to healthy adults, DP had lower proportions of n-3 and n-6 PUFA, but higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids. Two studies reported inverse associations between n-3 PUFAs and risks of sudden cardiac death, while one reported eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid)/arachidonic acid ratio was inversely associated with cardiovascular events. The relationship between all-cause mortality and blood FA composition in DP remained inconclusive. The current evidence highlights a critical role for essential FA in nutritional management of DP.
    MeSH terms: Diet; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated/blood*; Renal Dialysis*; Humans; Fatty Acids, Omega-3/blood*; Arachidonic Acid/blood; Fatty Acids, Omega-6/blood*; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/blood*; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/complications; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/ethnology; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/therapy
  4. Ismail MD, Jalalonmuhali M, Azhari Z, Mariapun J, Lee ZV, Zainal Abidin I, et al.
    BMC Cardiovasc Disord, 2018 09 24;18(1):184.
    PMID: 30249197 DOI: 10.1186/s12872-018-0919-9
    BACKGROUND: Patients with renal impairment often left out from most major clinical trials assessing the optimal treatment for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Large body of evidence from various cardiovascular registries reflecting more 'real-world' experience might contribute to the knowledge on how best to treat this special cohort. We aim to analyze the outcomes of Malaysian STEMI patients with renal impairment treated with coronary angioplasty.

    METHODS: Utilizing the Malaysian National Cardiovascular Disease Database-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (NCVD-PCI) registry data from 2007 to 2014, STEMI patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were stratified into presence (GFR 

    MeSH terms: Aged; Female; Glomerular Filtration Rate; Humans; Kidney/physiopathology; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Postoperative Complications/mortality; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Time Factors; Databases, Factual; Treatment Outcome; Coronary Angiography; Hospital Mortality; Risk Assessment; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/diagnosis; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/mortality; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/epidemiology*; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/physiopathology; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/mortality; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/surgery*; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/diagnostic imaging
  5. Ooi J, Azmi NH, Imam MU, Alitheen NB, Ismail M
    J Food Drug Anal, 2018 10;26(4):1253-1264.
    PMID: 30249324 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfda.2018.03.003
    Adipose tissue is one of the major organs responsible for rapid restoration of postprandial glucose fluxes. Being the major isoform of glucose transporter in adipose tissue, regulations of insulin-dependent GLUT4 trafficking have always been of research interest. The present study aimed to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying the efficacy of curculigoside and polyphenol-rich ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) of Molineria latifolia rhizome in triggering glucose uptake. We assessed the adipogenic potential and glucose uptake stimulatory activity of curculigoside and EAF by employing a murine 3T3-L1 adipocyte model. The transcriptional and translational expressions of selected intermediates in the insulin signalling pathway were evaluated. While curculigoside neither promoted adipogenesis nor activated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma, treatment with polyphenol-rich EAF resulted otherwise. However, both treatments enhanced insulin-stimulated uptake of glucose. This was coupled with increased availability of GLUT4 at the plasma membrane of the differentiated adipocytes although the total GLUT4 protein level was unaffected. In addition, the treatment increased the phosphorylation of both AKT and mTOR, which have been reported to be associated with GLUT4 translocation. The present findings proposed that curculigoside and EAF increased glucose transport activity of 3T3-L1 adipocytes via GLUT4 translocation as a result of potential mTOR/AKT activation. The more potent efficacy observed with EAF suggested potential synergistic and multi-targeted action.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Benzoates/pharmacology*; Glucose/metabolism; Glucosides/pharmacology*; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*; Signal Transduction/drug effects; Adipocytes/drug effects*; Adipocytes/metabolism; Protein Transport/drug effects; Rhizome/chemistry; NIH 3T3 Cells; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism*; Glucose Transporter Type 4/genetics; Glucose Transporter Type 4/metabolism*; Mice; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism*; Polyphenols/pharmacology*; Hypoxidaceae/chemistry*
  6. Lee SC, Chua LL, Yap SH, Khang TF, Leng CY, Raja Azwa RI, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2018 09 24;8(1):14277.
    PMID: 30250162 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32585-x
    We explored the gut microbiota profile among HIV-infected individuals with diverse immune recovery profiles following long-term suppressive ART and investigated the relationship between the altered bacteria with markers of immune dysfunction. The microbiota profile of rectal swabs from 26 HIV-infected individuals and 20 HIV-uninfected controls were examined. Patients were classified as suboptimal responders, sIR (n = 10, CD4 T-cell <350 cells/ul) and optimal responders, oIR (n = 16, CD4 T-cell >500 cells/ul) after a minimum of 2 years on suppressive ART. Canonical correlation analysis(CCA) and multiple regression modelling were used to explore the association between fecal bacterial taxa abundance and immunological profiles in optimal and suboptimal responders. We found Fusobacterium was significantly enriched among the HIV-infected and the sIR group. CCA results showed that Fusobacterium abundance was negatively correlated with CD4 T-cell counts, but positively correlated with CD4 T-cell activation and CD4 Tregs. Multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for age, baseline CD4 T-cell count, antibiotic exposure and MSM status indicated that higher Fusobacterium relative abundance was independently associated with poorer CD4 T-cell recovery following ART. Enrichment of Fusobacterium was associated with reduced immune recovery and persistent immune dysfunction following ART. Modulating the abundance of this bacterial taxa in the gut may be a viable intervention to improve immune reconstitution in our setting.
    MeSH terms: Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/immunology; Adult; Fusobacterium/growth & development; Fusobacterium/immunology*; HIV/pathogenicity; Humans; Immune System/microbiology*; Lymphocyte Activation/immunology; Male; Middle Aged; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology; HIV Infections/immunology*; HIV Infections/microbiology*; HIV Infections/physiopathology; HIV Infections/virology; Homosexuality, Male; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Anti-HIV Agents/administration & dosage; Anti-HIV Agents/immunology; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
  7. Pillay R, Hua F, Loiselle BA, Bernard H, Fletcher RJ
    Ecol Evol, 2018 Aug;8(16):8231-8242.
    PMID: 30250698 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4352
    Tropical forest degradation is a global environmental issue. In degraded forests, seedling recruitment of canopy trees is vital for forest regeneration and recovery. We investigated how selective logging, a pervasive driver of tropical forest degradation, impacts canopy tree seedling recruitment, focusing on an endemic dipterocarp Dryobalanops lanceolata in Sabah, Borneo. During a mast-fruiting event in intensively logged and nearby unlogged forest, we examined four stages of the seedling recruitment process: seed production, seed predation, and negative density-dependent germination and seedling survival. Our results suggest that each stage of the seedling recruitment process is altered in logged forest. The seed crop of D. lanceolata trees in logged forest was one-third smaller than that produced by trees in unlogged forest. The functional role of vertebrates in seed predation increased in logged forest while that of non-vertebrates declined. Seeds in logged forest were less likely to germinate than those in unlogged forest. Germination increased with local-scale conspecific seed density in unlogged forest, but seedling survival tended to decline. However, both germination and seedling survival increased with local-scale conspecific seed density in logged forest. Notably, seed crop size, germination, and seedling survival tended to increase for larger trees in both unlogged and logged forests, suggesting that sustainable timber extraction and silvicultural practices designed to minimize damage to the residual stand are important to prevent seedling recruitment failure. Overall, these impacts sustained by several aspects of seedling recruitment in a mast-fruiting year suggest that intensive selective logging may affect long-term population dynamics of D. lanceolata. It is necessary to establish if other dipterocarp species, many of which are threatened by the timber trade, are similarly affected in tropical forests degraded by intensive selective logging.
  8. Yu J, Zhong Y, Wu X, Sunarso J, Ni M, Zhou W, et al.
    Adv Sci (Weinh), 2018 Sep;5(9):1800514.
    PMID: 30250794 DOI: 10.1002/advs.201800514
    Hydrogen production from renewable electricity relies upon the development of an efficient alkaline water electrolysis device and, ultimately, upon the availability of low cost and stable electrocatalysts that can promote oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Normally, different electrocatalysts are applied for HER and OER because of their different reaction intermediates and mechanisms. Here, the synthesis of a heterostructured CoP@a-CoOx plate, which constitutes the embedded crystalline cobalt phosphide (CoP) nanoclusters and amorphous cobalt oxides (CoOx) nanoplates matrix, via a combined solvothermal and low temperature phosphidation route is reported. Due to the presence of synergistic effect between CoP nanoclusters and amorphous CoOx nanoplates in the catalyst, created from the strong nanointerfaces electronic interactions between CoP and CoOx phases in its heterostructure, this composite displays very high OER activity in addition to favorable HER activity that is comparable to the performance of the IrO2 OER benchmark and approached that of the Pt/C HER benchmark. More importantly, an efficient and stable alkaline water electrolysis operation is achieved using CoP@a-CoOx plate as both cathode and anode as evidenced by the obtainment of a relatively low potential of 1.660 V at a 10 mA cm-2 current density and its marginal increase above 1.660 V over 30 h continuous operation.
  9. Khan TM, Kok YL, Bukhsh A, Lee LH, Chan KG, Goh BH
    Germs, 2018 Sep;8(3):113-125.
    PMID: 30250830 DOI: 10.18683/germs.2018.1138
    Background: Burn victims admitted in burn intensive care units (ICU) are at a high risk of nosocomial infections generated by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This systematic review aims to estimate the incidence of MRSA among burn patients admitted to the ICU setting, with an emphasis on the incidence rate and antibiotic resistance profile of the MRSA strains.

    Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in five electronic databases limited to publication dates from 1st January 2000 until 31st August 2017. After screening n=481 articles, n=21 were found to meet the inclusion criteria of this systematic review.

    Results: Results from the meta-analysis revealed that the risk for MRSA isolates in the burn ICU was 55.0% higher (OR 0.55, 95%CI 0.32-0.94). Therefore, timely testing, appropriate hygiene practice and suggested wound care must be practiced while handling such patients.

    Conclusion: Further studies are needed to identify the risk factors of MRSA infections among burn patients and to develop new antimicrobial agents for MRSA infections.

    MeSH terms: Anti-Infective Agents; Cross Infection; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Humans; Hygiene; Intensive Care Units; Methicillin; Risk Factors; Incidence; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
  10. Thamrin V, Saugstad OD, Tarnow-Mordi W, Wang YA, Lui K, Wright IM, et al.
    J Pediatr, 2018 10;201:55-61.e1.
    PMID: 30251639 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.05.053
    OBJECTIVE: To determine rates of death or neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 2 years corrected age (primary outcome) in children <32 weeks' gestation randomized to initial resuscitation with a fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) value of 0.21 or 1.0.

    STUDY DESIGN: Blinded assessments were conducted at 2-3 years corrected age with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition or the Ages and Stages Questionnaire by intention to treat.

    RESULTS: Of the 290 children enrolled, 40 could not be contacted and 10 failed to attend appointments. Among the 240 children for whom outcomes at age 2 years were available, 1 child had a lethal congenital anomaly, 1 child had consent for follow-up withdrawn, and 23 children died. The primary outcome, which was available in 238 (82%) of those randomized, occurred in 47 of the 117 (40%) children assigned to initial FiO2 0.21 and in 38 of the 121 (31%) assigned to initial FiO2 1.0 (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 0.86-2.5; P = .16). No difference in NDI was found in 215 survivors randomized to FiO2 0.21 vs 1.0 (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 0.70-2.28; P = .11). In post hoc exploratory analyses in the whole cohort, children with a 5-minute blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) <80% were more likely to die or to have NDI (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.07-3.2; P = .03).

    CONCLUSIONS: Initial resuscitation of infants <32 weeks' gestation with initial FiO2 0.21 had no significant effect on death or NDI compared with initial FiO2 1.0. Further evaluation of optimum initial FiO2, including SpO2 targeting, in a large randomized controlled trial is needed.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Network Registry ACTRN 12610001059055 and the National Malaysian Research Registry NMRR-07-685-957.

    MeSH terms: Aptitude Tests; Child, Preschool; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature*; Male; Oxygen/administration & dosage*; Oxygen/blood; Oxygen Inhalation Therapy/methods*; Resuscitation*; Neurodevelopmental Disorders/epidemiology*
  11. Mohd Rani F, A Rahman NI, Ismail S, Abdullah FH, Othman N, Alattraqchi AG, et al.
    J Med Microbiol, 2018 Nov;67(11):1538-1543.
    PMID: 30251951 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.000844
    A total of 153 non-repeat Acinetobacter spp. clinical isolates obtained in 2015 from Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ) in Terengganu, Malaysia, were characterized. Identification of the isolates at species level was performed by ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) followed by sequencing of the rpoB gene. The majority of the isolates (n=128; 83.7 %) were A. baumannii while the rest were identified as A. nosocomialis (n=16), A. calcoaceticus (n=5), A. soli (n=2), A. berezeniae (n=1) and A. variabilis (n=1). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was most prevalent in A. baumannnii (66.4 %) whereas only one non-baumannii isolate (A. nosocomialis) was MDR. The blaOXA-23 gene was the predominant acquired carbapenemase gene (56.2 %) and was significantly associated (P<0.001) with carbapenem resistance. However, no significant association was found for carbapenem resistance and isolates that contained the ISAba1-blaOXA-51 configuration.
    MeSH terms: Acinetobacter/drug effects*; Acinetobacter/enzymology; Acinetobacter/genetics; Acinetobacter Infections/microbiology; Acinetobacter Infections/epidemiology*; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology; Bacterial Proteins/genetics*; Bacterial Proteins/isolation & purification; beta-Lactamases/genetics*; beta-Lactamases/isolation & purification; DNA, Bacterial/genetics; Female; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Acinetobacter calcoaceticus/drug effects; Acinetobacter calcoaceticus/enzymology; Acinetobacter calcoaceticus/genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics*; Acinetobacter baumannii/drug effects*; Acinetobacter baumannii/enzymology; Acinetobacter baumannii/genetics; Young Adult; Genome, Microbial
  12. Looi QH, Foo JB, Lim MT, Le CF, Show PL
    Int Rev Immunol, 2018;37(5):266-276.
    PMID: 30252547 DOI: 10.1080/08830185.2018.1500570
    Despite of ongoing research programs and numerous clinical trials, seasonal influenza epidemics remain a major concern globally. Vaccination remains the most effective method to prevent influenza infection. However, current flu vaccines have several limitations, including limited vaccine capacity, long production times, inconsistence efficacy in certain populations, and lack of a "universal" solution. Different next-generation approaches such as cell line-based culture, reverse genetics, and virus expression technology are currently under development to address the aforementioned challenges in conventional vaccine manufacture pipeline. Such approaches hope for safe and scalable production, induce broad-spectrum immunity, create premade libraries of vaccine strains, and target nonvariable regions of antigenic proteins for "universal" vaccination. Here, we discuss the process and challenges of the current influenza vaccine platform as well as new approaches that are being investigated. These developments indicate that an exciting future lies ahead in the influenza vaccine field.
    MeSH terms: Cell Line; Humans; Influenza, Human; Influenza Vaccines; Seasons; Vaccination; Reverse Genetics
  13. Mohamed ZI, Tee SF, Tang PY
    Psychiatr Genet, 2018 12;28(6):110-119.
    PMID: 30252773 DOI: 10.1097/YPG.0000000000000210
    INTRODUCTION: In recent years, various studies have accumulated evidence of the involvement of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in introns and exons in schizophrenia. The association of functional SNPs in the 3'-untranslated regions with schizophrenia has been explored in a number of studies, but the results are inconclusive because of limited meta-analyses. To systematically analyze the association between SNPs in 3'-untranslated regions and schizophrenia, we conducted a meta-analysis by combining all available studies on schizophrenia candidate genes.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched candidate genes from the schizophrenia database and performed a comprehensive meta-analysis using all the available data up to August 2017. The association between susceptible SNPs and schizophrenia was assessed by the pooled odds ratio with 95% confidence interval using fixed-effect and random-effect models.

    RESULTS: A total of 21 studies including 8291 cases and 9638 controls were used for meta-analysis. Three investigated SNPs were rs165599, rs3737597, and rs1047631 of COMT, DISC1, and DTNBP1, respectively. Our results suggested that rs3737597 showed a significant association with schizophrenia in Europeans (odds ratio: 1.584, P: 0.002, 95% confidence interval: 1.176-2.134) under a random-effect framework.

    CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis indicated that rs3737597 of DISC1 was significantly associated with schizophrenia in Europeans, and it can be suggested as an ethnic-specific risk genetic factor.

    MeSH terms: Catechol O-Methyltransferase/genetics*; Ethnic Groups/genetics; Exons; Female; Humans; Introns; Male; Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics*; Schizophrenia/genetics*; Odds Ratio; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; 3' Untranslated Regions/genetics; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics; European Continental Ancestry Group/genetics; Genetic Association Studies
  14. Ng, C.C., Loh, S.P.
    MyJurnal
    Soymilk, which can be called as plant based “milk” is a favourite traditional beverage in Asian with various beneficial health protective effects due to the presence of isoflavones. Mixing cereal grains into soymilk to make a wholesome beverage for breakfast becomes popular. However, dietary factors may affect the bioaccessibility of isoflavones. The aim of this current work was to evaluate changes in the bioaccessibility of isoflavones in soymilk after mixing with selected cereal grains following in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The samples were subjected to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion with its isoflavones content determined before and after simulated gastric digestion and intestinal digestion with dialysis membrane. Soymilk contained 1.80 ± 0.03 mg daidzein and 2.12 ± 0.08 mg genistein in 100 ml, while bioaccessibility of soymilk daidzein and genistein were 11.24 ± 0.46% and 5.09 ± 0.25% respectively. The addition of cereal grains except barley in soymilk showed significant reduction (p
  15. Zilhadia, Yahdiana,H., Effionora, A., Irwandi, J.
    MyJurnal
    Gelatin from goatskin pretreated with hydrochloric acid and extracted with distilled water at 60oC for 9 hours was characterized and compared to that of bovine skin gelatin (BSG). A yield of 10.26% (wet weight basis) was obtained. Goatskin gelatin (GSG) had high protein (86.58%), suitable moisture (9.58%), low fat (1.46%) and low ash (0.11%) content. The functional properties of GSG including gel strength (301 g bloom) and emulsion activity index (94.27%) were higher than the functional properties of BSG including gel strength (192 g bloom) and emulsion activity index (49.74%). The foaming property of GSG (102%) was lower than that of BSG (164.67%). This study shows that GSG has a high potential for application as a source of commercial gelatin.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Cattle; Emulsions; Gelatin; Hydrochloric Acid; Water
  16. Yusof, H.M., Sarah, Ng, M.L., Lam, T.W., Kassim, M.N.I.
    MyJurnal
    High lipid levels are associated with the increase tendency of atherosclerosis formation. In the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, increase in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) concentration has been identified as the main culprit in many cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidents. Both quercetin and kaempferol are flavonoids that most abundantly found in fruits and vegetables. Several studies have dictated that both compounds exhibit CVD protective effects through the regulation of lipid levels. In the present study, the hypolipidemic potential of quercetin and kaempferol through LDL-c uptake were tested on HepG2 cells. Cell viability was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in order to study the cytotoxicity effect quercetin and kaemperol on cell proliferation. The present study demonstrated that quercetin and kaempferol at low concentration of 15 µM, possess the highest hypolipidemic effects via LDL-c uptake in HepG2 cells (p
  17. Jahan S, Alias YB, Bakar AFBA, Yusoff IB
    J Environ Sci (China), 2018 Oct;72:140-152.
    PMID: 30244741 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2017.12.022
    The toxicity and kinetic uptake potential of zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterials into the red bean (Vigna angularis) plant were investigated. The results obtained revealed that ZnO, due to its high dissolution and strong binding capacity, readily accumulated in the root tissues and significantly inhibited the physiological activity of the plant. However, TiO2 had a positive effect on plant physiology, resulting in promoted growth. The results of biochemical experiments implied that ZnO, through the generation of oxidative stress, significantly reduced the chlorophyll content, carotenoids and activity of stress-controlling enzymes. On the contrary, no negative biochemical impact was observed in plants treated with TiO2. For the kinetic uptake and transport study, we designed two exposure systems in which ZnO and TiO2 were exposed to red bean seedlings individually or in a mixture approach. The results showed that in single metal oxide treatments, the uptake and transport increased with increasing exposure period from one week to three weeks. However, in the metal oxide co-exposure treatment, due to complexation and competition among the particles, the uptake and transport were remarkably decreased. This suggested that the kinetic transport pattern of the metal oxide mixtures varied compared to those of its individual constituents.
    MeSH terms: Kinetics; Titanium/toxicity*; Zinc Oxide/toxicity*; Zinc Oxide/chemistry; Oxidative Stress; Toxicity Tests*; Metal Nanoparticles/toxicity*; Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry; Vigna/drug effects*; Vigna/physiology
  18. Yıldırım Ö, Pławiak P, Tan RS, Acharya UR
    Comput Biol Med, 2018 11 01;102:411-420.
    PMID: 30245122 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2018.09.009
    This article presents a new deep learning approach for cardiac arrhythmia (17 classes) detection based on long-duration electrocardiography (ECG) signal analysis. Cardiovascular disease prevention is one of the most important tasks of any health care system as about 50 million people are at risk of heart disease in the world. Although automatic analysis of ECG signal is very popular, current methods are not satisfactory. The goal of our research was to design a new method based on deep learning to efficiently and quickly classify cardiac arrhythmias. Described research are based on 1000 ECG signal fragments from the MIT - BIH Arrhythmia database for one lead (MLII) from 45 persons. Approach based on the analysis of 10-s ECG signal fragments (not a single QRS complex) is applied (on average, 13 times less classifications/analysis). A complete end-to-end structure was designed instead of the hand-crafted feature extraction and selection used in traditional methods. Our main contribution is to design a new 1D-Convolutional Neural Network model (1D-CNN). The proposed method is 1) efficient, 2) fast (real-time classification) 3) non-complex and 4) simple to use (combined feature extraction and selection, and classification in one stage). Deep 1D-CNN achieved a recognition overall accuracy of 17 cardiac arrhythmia disorders (classes) at a level of 91.33% and classification time per single sample of 0.015 s. Compared to the current research, our results are one of the best results to date, and our solution can be implemented in mobile devices and cloud computing.
    MeSH terms: Cloud Computing; Machine Learning; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Electrocardiography; Goals; Heart Diseases
  19. Abbasi MA, Hassan M, Ur-Rehman A, Siddiqui SZ, Hussain G, Shah SAA, et al.
    Comput Biol Chem, 2018 Dec;77:72-86.
    PMID: 30245349 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2018.09.007
    The heterocyclic compounds have been extensively reported for their bioactivity potential. The current research work reports the synthesis of some new multi-functional derivatives of 2-furoic piperazide (1; 1-(2-furoyl)piperazine). The synthesis was initiated by reacting the starting compound 1 with 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzenesulfonyl chloride (2) in a basic, polar and protic medium to obtain the parent sulfonamide 3 which was then treated with different electrophiles, 4a-g, in a polar and aprotic medium to acquire the designed molecules, 5a-g. These convergent derivatives were evaluated for their inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes. Acarbose was used as a reference standard for α-glucosidase inhibition while eserine for AChE and BChE inhibition. Some of the synthesized compounds were identified as promising inhibitors of these three enzymes and their bioactivity potentials were also supported by molecular docking study. The most active compounds among the synthetic analogues might be helpful in drug discovery and development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and Alzhiemer's diseases.
    MeSH terms: Acetylcholinesterase/metabolism; alpha-Glucosidases/metabolism; Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy*; Alzheimer Disease/metabolism; Animals; Butyrylcholinesterase/metabolism; Cholinesterase Inhibitors/chemical synthesis; Cholinesterase Inhibitors/pharmacology*; Cholinesterase Inhibitors/chemistry; Computer Simulation; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy*; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism; Electrophorus; Horses; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents/chemical synthesis; Hypoglycemic Agents/pharmacology*; Hypoglycemic Agents/chemistry; Piperazines/chemical synthesis; Piperazines/pharmacology*; Piperazines/chemistry; Neuroprotective Agents/chemical synthesis; Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology*; Neuroprotective Agents/chemistry; Molecular Docking Simulation; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors/chemical synthesis; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors/pharmacology*; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors/chemistry
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