RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The synthesized benzoxazole compounds were confirmed by IR, 1H/13C-NMR, mass and screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacterium: Bacillus subtilis, four Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi and two fungal strains: Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger using tube dilution technique and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was noted in µM and compared to ofloxacin and fluconazole. Human colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) cancer cell line was used for the determination of in vitro anticancer activity (IC50 value) by Sulforhodamine B assay using 5-fluorouracil as standard drug.
CONCLUSION: The performed study indicated that the compounds 1, 10, 13, 16, 19, 20 and 24 had highest antimicrobial activity with MIC values comparable to ofloxacin and fluconazole and compounds 4, 6, 25 and 26 had best anticancer activity in comparison to 5-fluorouracil.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This work contributes to the knowledge on the biofilm formation and the distribution of agr groups in S. aureus strains as well as microbial surface components in recognizing adherence matrix molecules of organisms isolated from ready-to-eat sushi and sashimi. The findings provide valuable information to further study the roles of specific genes in causing biofilm-related infections.
METHODS: Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing two chimeric P. falciparum parasites, were generated, where the pfcsp gene has been replaced by either one of the two major pvcsp alleles, VK210 or VK247. In addition, a P. falciparum parasite line that lacks CSP expression was also generated. These parasite lines have been analysed for sporozoite production in An. stephensi mosquitoes.
RESULTS: The two chimeric Pf-PvCSP lines exhibit normal asexual and sexual blood stage development in vitro and produce sporozoite-containing oocysts in An. stephensi mosquitoes. Expression of the corresponding PvCSP was confirmed in oocyst-derived Pf-PvCSP sporozoites. However, most oocysts degenerate before sporozoite formation and sporozoites were not found in either the mosquito haemocoel or salivary glands. Unlike the chimeric Pf-PvCSP parasites, oocysts of P. falciparum parasites lacking CSP expression do not produce sporozoites.
CONCLUSIONS: Chimeric P. falciparum parasites expressing P. vivax circumsporozoite protein fail to produce salivary gland sporozoites. Combined, these studies show that while PvCSP can partially complement the function of PfCSP, species-specific features of CSP govern full sporozoite maturation and development in the two human malaria parasites.
METHODS: We used data from the KARolinska MAmmography (Karma) project, a Swedish mammography screening cohort. Insulin-treated patients with type 1 (T1D, n = 122) and type 2 (T2D, n = 237) diabetes were identified through linkage with the Prescribed Drug Register and age-matched to 1771 women without diabetes. We assessed associations with treatment duration and insulin glargine use, and we further examined MD differences using non-insulin-treated T2D patients as an active comparator. MD was measured using a fully automated volumetric method, and analyses were adjusted for multiple potential confounders. Associations with the insulin genetic score were assessed in 9437 study participants without diabetes.
RESULTS: Compared with age-matched women without diabetes, insulin-treated T1D patients had greater percent dense (8.7% vs. 11.4%) and absolute dense volumes (59.7 vs. 64.7 cm3), and a smaller absolute nondense volume (615 vs. 491 cm3). Similar associations were observed for insulin-treated T2D, and estimates were not materially different in analyses comparing insulin-treated T2D patients with T2D patients receiving noninsulin glucose-lowering medication. In both T1D and T2D, the magnitude of the association with the absolute dense volume was highest for long-term insulin therapy (≥ 5 years) and the long-acting insulin analog glargine. No consistent evidence of differential associations by insulin treatment duration or type was found for percent dense and absolute nondense volumes. Genetically predicted insulin levels were positively associated with percent dense and absolute dense volumes, but not with the absolute nondense volume (percentage difference [95% CI] per 1-SD increase in insulin genetic score = 0.8 [0.0; 1.6], 0.9 [0.1; 1.8], and 0.1 [- 0.8; 0.9], respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: The consistency in direction of association for insulin treatment and the insulin genetic score with the absolute dense volume suggest a causal influence of long-term increased insulin exposure on mammographic dense breast tissue.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We sought to determine the prognostic role of the examined lymph node (LN), negative LN (NLN), and positive LN counts and the LN ratio (LNR), defined as (positive LNs/ENLs), on the survival rate among MBC patients. We performed a large population-based study using the data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.
RESULTS: Older age, black race, stage IV disease, ≤ 1 NLN, and a > 31.3% LNR were significantly associated with worse survival across all prediction models. Moreover, we demonstrated a decreased risk of mortality in MBC patients across the MBC-specific survival model (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.96-0.998; P = .03) and 10-year MBC-specific survival model (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.96-0.999; P = .04).
CONCLUSION: MBC has had an augmented incidence over the years. We found several independent predictors of MBC survival, including age, race, stage, NLNs, and the LNR. We strongly suggest adding the NLN count and/or LNR into the current staging system. Further studies are needed to provide information on the mechanisms underlying the association between the NLN count and MBC survival and the LNR and MBC survival.
METHODS: An observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. Children with CCHD in the age group of birth-12 years were included in the study. Hematological parameters of these patients were determined and compared. An assessment of the incidence of cyanotic spells in the iron-deficient and iron non-deficient children was also done. Data analysis was done using Fischer's exact test.
RESULTS: The prevalence of IDA was 47.06% in the study population. The study also showed that hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were paradoxically higher in the iron-deficient group as compared to the non-deficient, though the iron studies revealed the iron deficiency. The incidence of cyanotic spells was higher in the iron-deficient group. The mean corpuscular volume (MCV), red cell distribution width (RDW), serum ferritin, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and transferrin saturation (TS) values were the parameters, which were found to be statistically significant to differentiate the study groups.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IDA in children with CCHD was found to be high. Iron-deficient group had an increased frequency of cyanotic spells as compared to the non-deficient group, which was statistically significant.
Methods: A descriptive, cross sectional-survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire comprising of sections that focused on public preferences and options on weight management approaches, perceived availability of extended services and resources provided by community pharmacists in relation to weight management, utilization of these services and resources, and factors influencing acceptability of weight management services provided by community pharmacists. The questionnaires were distributed to the general public aged 18 years and above in Klang Valley, Malaysia.
Results: A total of 730 respondents with a median age of 31 years participated in this study. Majority of respondents ranked dieticians as their preferred first line of consultation, with only about a quarter of respondents ranking community pharmacists as their preferred first or second line of consultation. Although more than half show of the study respondents perceived that community pharmacies they had visited offered services for measuring weight, height, blood pressure, blood glucose and blood cholesterol, fewer perceived that community pharmacies provided advice on physical activity and healthy eating to achieve weight loss. Additionally, majority of the respondents indicated that they had not utilized these services. However, most respondents perceived that community pharmacists should provide weight management services. The main factors influencing acceptability show of services included training of pharmacists, payment, waiting time and the issue of privacy.
Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that the majority of respondents were in support of weight management services in community pharmacy; however only a low percentage reported utilizing these services. Factors influencing acceptability of services included payment, waiting time and the issue of privacy. With adequate training among pharmacists and increased awareness of services among the public, community pharmacists could play a larger and important role in addressing the issue of obesity in Malaysia.
METHODS: One hundred patients undergoing elective surgery were recruited. OLP was compared in supine position, 45° lateral rotation, 45° neck extension, and 30° neck flexion. Glottic view, insertion time, ease of insertion, number of attempts, ease and time of insertion of gastric tube, and complications were also compared.
RESULTS: The OLP of the Baska FESS was higher than the LMA Supreme in all head and neck positions studied (p
OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to investigate the use of movement sensor data from a smart watch to infer an individual's emotional state. We present our findings of a user study with 50 participants.
METHODS: The experimental design is a mixed-design study: within-subjects (emotions: happy, sad, and neutral) and between-subjects (stimulus type: audiovisual "movie clips" and audio "music clips"). Each participant experienced both emotions in a single stimulus type. All participants walked 250 m while wearing a smart watch on one wrist and a heart rate monitor strap on the chest. They also had to answer a short questionnaire (20 items; Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule, PANAS) before and after experiencing each emotion. The data obtained from the heart rate monitor served as supplementary information to our data. We performed time series analysis on data from the smart watch and a t test on questionnaire items to measure the change in emotional state. Heart rate data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. We extracted features from the time series using sliding windows and used features to train and validate classifiers that determined an individual's emotion.
RESULTS: Overall, 50 young adults participated in our study; of them, 49 were included for the affective PANAS questionnaire and 44 for the feature extraction and building of personal models. Participants reported feeling less negative affect after watching sad videos or after listening to sad music, P