Browse publications by year: 2018

  1. Titah HS, Halmi MIEB, Abdullah SRS, Hasan HA, Idris M, Anuar N
    Int J Phytoremediation, 2018 Jun 07;20(7):721-729.
    PMID: 29723047 DOI: 10.1080/15226514.2017.1413337
    In this study, the removal of arsenic (As) by plant, Ludwigia octovalvis, in a pilot reed bed was optimized. A Box-Behnken design was employed including a comparative analysis of both Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for the prediction of maximum arsenic removal. The predicted optimum condition using the desirability function of both models was 39 mg kg-1 for the arsenic concentration in soil, an elapsed time of 42 days (the sampling day) and an aeration rate of 0.22 L/min, with the predicted values of arsenic removal by RSM and ANN being 72.6% and 71.4%, respectively. The validation of the predicted optimum point showed an actual arsenic removal of 70.6%. This was achieved with the deviation between the validation value and the predicted values being within 3.49% (RSM) and 1.87% (ANN). The performance evaluation of the RSM and ANN models showed that ANN performs better than RSM with a higher R2 (0.97) close to 1.0 and very small Average Absolute Deviation (AAD) (0.02) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) (0.004) values close to zero. Both models were appropriate for the optimization of arsenic removal with ANN demonstrating significantly higher predictive and fitting ability than RSM.
    MeSH terms: Arsenic*; Biodegradation, Environmental; Neural Networks (Computer); Onagraceae*
  2. Jaafaru MS, Nordin N, Shaari K, Rosli R, Abdull Razis AF
    PLoS One, 2018;13(5):e0196403.
    PMID: 29723199 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196403
    Reactive oxygen species are well known for induction of oxidative stress conditions through oxidation of vital biomarkers leading to cellular death via apoptosis and other process, thereby causing devastative effects on the host organs. This effect is believed to be linked with pathological alterations seen in several neurodegenerative disease conditions. Many phytochemical compounds proved to have robust antioxidant activities that deterred cells against cytotoxic stress environment, thus protect apoptotic cell death. In view of that we studied the potential of glucomoringin-isothiocyanate (GMG-ITC) or moringin to mitigate the process that lead to neurodegeneration in various ways. Neuroprotective effect of GMG-ITC was performed on retinoic acid (RA) induced differentiated neuroblastoma cells (SHSY5Y) via cell viability assay, flow cytometry analysis and fluorescence microscopy by means of acridine orange and propidium iodide double staining, to evaluate the anti-apoptotic activity and morphology conservation ability of the compound. Additionally, neurite surface integrity and ultrastructural analysis were carried out by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopy to assess the orientation of surface and internal features of the treated neuronal cells. GMG-ITC pre-treated neuron cells showed significant resistance to H2O2-induced apoptotic cell death, revealing high level of protection by the compound. Increase of intracellular oxidative stress induced by H2O2 was mitigated by GMG-ITC. Thus, pre-treatment with the compound conferred significant protection to cytoskeleton and cytoplasmic inclusion coupled with conservation of surface morphological features and general integrity of neuronal cells. Therefore, the collective findings in the presence study indicated the potentials of GMG-ITC to protect the integrity of neuron cells against induced oxidative-stress related cytotoxic processes, the hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases.
    MeSH terms: Cell Differentiation; Cell Line; Cell Survival/drug effects; Humans; Hydrogen Peroxide/toxicity*; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Nerve Degeneration/chemically induced; Nerve Degeneration/pathology; Nerve Degeneration/prevention & control; Neurons/cytology; Neurons/drug effects*; Neurons/metabolism; Rhamnose/analogs & derivatives*; Rhamnose/pharmacology; Seeds/chemistry; Apoptosis/drug effects; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism; Isothiocyanates/pharmacology*; Oxidative Stress/drug effects; Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology*; Moringa oleifera/chemistry*
  3. Liew KJ, Lim L, Woo HY, Chan KG, Shamsir MS, Goh KM
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2018 Aug;115:1094-1102.
    PMID: 29723622 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.04.156
    Beta-glucosidase (BGL) is an important industrial enzyme for food, waste and biofuel processing. Jeotgalibacillus is an understudied halophilic genus, and no beta-glucosidase from this genus has been reported. A novel beta-glucosidase gene (1344 bp) from J. malaysiensis DSM 28777T was cloned and expressed in E. coli. The recombinant protein, referred to as BglD5, consists of a total 447 amino acids. BglD5 purified using a Ni-NTA column has an apparent molecular mass of 52 kDa. It achieved the highest activity at pH 7 and 65 °C. The activity and stability were increased when CaCl2 was supplemented to the enzyme. The enzyme efficiently hydrolyzed salicin and (1 → 4)-beta-glycosidic linkages such as in cellobiose, cellotriose, cellotetraose, cellopentose, and cellohexanose. Similar to many BGLs, BglD5 was not active towards polysaccharides such as Avicel, carboxymethyl cellulose, Sigmacell cellulose 101, alpha-cellulose and xylan. When BglD5 blended with Cellic® Ctec2, the total sugars saccharified from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) was enhanced by 4.5%. Based on sequence signatures and tree analyses, BglD5 belongs to the Glycoside Hydrolase family 1. This enzyme is a novel beta-glucosidase attributable to its relatively low sequence similarity with currently known beta-glucosidases, where the closest characterized enzyme is the DT-Bgl from Anoxybacillus sp. DT3-1.
    MeSH terms: beta-Glucosidase/genetics; beta-Glucosidase/isolation & purification*; beta-Glucosidase/metabolism*; beta-Glucosidase/chemistry; Biotechnology; Cellobiose/metabolism; Cloning, Molecular; Kinetics; Molecular Weight; Substrate Specificity; Computational Biology; Planococcaceae/enzymology*
  4. Huong KH, Elina KAR, Amirul AA
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2018 Sep;116:217-223.
    PMID: 29723627 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.04.148
    Long carbon chain alkanediols are used in the production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB-co-4HB)], however these substrates possess high toxicity towards bacterial cells. This study demonstrated the effective utilisation of a long carbon chain alkanediol, namely 1,8-octanediol, to enhance the yield and production of a copolymer with a high molecular weight of over 1000 kDa, which is desirable for novel applications in medical and biopharmaceuticals. The increased PHA content (47-61 wt%) and concentration (1.7-4.5 g/L) was achieved by additional feeding of a combination of C4 substrates at C/N 10, with 1,8-octanediol + γ-butyrolactone producing P(3HB-co-22 mol% 4HB) with a high molecular weight (1060 kDa) and elongation at break of 970%. The DO-stat feeding strategy of C/N 10 has shown an increment of PHA concentration for both carbon combination, 0.45-4.27 g/L and 0.32-3.36 g/L for 1,8-octanediol + sodium 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB-Na) and 1,8-octanediol + γ-butyrolactone, but with a slight reduction on molecular weight and mechanical strength. Nonetheless, further study revealed that a nitrogen-absence feeding strategy could retain the high molecular weight and elongation at break of the copolymer, and simultaneously improving the overall P(3HB-co-4HB) production.
    MeSH terms: Carbon/chemistry*; Hydroxybutyrates/chemistry*; Molecular Weight; Nitrogen/chemistry; Polyesters/chemistry*; Polymers/chemistry*; Cupriavidus/chemistry*
  5. Packiriswamy V, Kumar P, Bashour M
    Facial Plast Surg, 2018 Aug;34(4):400-406.
    PMID: 29723879 DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1648224
    In oculoplastic operations, knowledge of the dimensions of periorbital features based on age, gender, and race is essential for achieving better aesthetic result. This article seeks to determine the racial and gender differences of periorbital features among Malaysian Malay (MM), Malaysian Indian (MI), and Malaysian Chinese (MI) subjects. Evaluation of periorbital features was done on photographs of 200 MM, 200 MI, and 200 MC subjects, aged 18 to 26 years. The measured values were evaluated by an independent t-test. A significant difference was found between MM and MI in all measurements except interbrow distance in males, eyebrow thickness in females, and apex to lateral limbus distance in both sexes. Between MI and MC the difference was insignificant for interbrow distance in male groups, apex to lateral limbus distance in females, and palpebral fissure inclination and eyebrow apex angle in both sexes. Between MM and MC, significant differences were found for eyebrow thickness and medial canthus tilt in female group. Male groups showed significant difference for apex to lateral limbus and lateral canthus distance and eyebrow apex angle. Eyebrow height, palpebral fissure width, and intercanthal distance were significantly different in both sexes. Sexual dimorphism was found for all measurements in MI, but MM and MC showed insignificant difference for eyebrow apex angle. Four types of epicanthus were observed in MM and MC and three types in MI. Eyebrow apex between lateral limbus and lateral canthus was the most common position in all racial groups. Significant racial and gender differences exist for certain periorbital measurements. The knowledge of these differences is expected to influence the surgical outcome.
    MeSH terms: Esthetics; Eyebrows; Eyelids; Female; Lacrimal Apparatus; Malaysia; Male; Men; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors; Treatment Outcome
  6. Joshi P, Okada T, Miyabayashi K, Miyake M
    Anal Chem, 2018 May 15;90(10):6116-6123.
    PMID: 29613775 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b00247
    Organically (octyl amine, OA) surface modified electrocatalyst (OA-Pt/CB) was studied for its oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity via dc methods and its charge and mass transfer properties were studied via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Comparison with a commercial catalyst (TEC10V30E) with similar Pt content was also carried out. In EIS, both the catalysts showed a single time-constant with an emerging high-frequency semicircle of very small diameter which was fitted using suitable equivalent circuits. The organically modified catalyst showed lower charge-transfer resistance and hence, low polarization resistance in high potential region as compared to the commercial catalyst. The dominance of kinetic processes was observed at 0.925-1.000 V, whereas domination of diffusion based processes was observed at lower potential region for the organic catalyst. No effect due to the presence of carbon was observed in the EIS spectra. Using the hydrodynamic method, higher current penetration depth was obtained for the organically modified catalyst at 1600 rpm. Exchange current density and Tafel slopes for both the electrocatalysts were calculated from the polarization resistance obtained from EIS which was in correlation with the results obtained from dc methods.
    MeSH terms: Amines; Carbon; Catalysis; Diffusion; Oxygen; Physical Phenomena; Hydrodynamics; Dielectric Spectroscopy
  7. Anthony Berauk VL, Murugiah MK, Soh YC, Chuan Sheng Y, Wong TW, Ming LC
    Ther Innov Regul Sci, 2018 05;52(3):374-382.
    PMID: 29714532 DOI: 10.1177/2168479017725556
    BACKGROUND: Mobile devices and applications (apps) that act as access tools for health care management aid in the improvement of clinical decision making and patient outcomes. However, the tremendous amount of mobile health (mHealth) apps available in commercial app stores makes it hard for the lay users as well as health care professionals to choose the right one for their individual needs. The contents and features of these apps have not been systematically reviewed and compared. This study aims to assess the contents and features of mHealth apps for caring of older people.

    METHODS: A review and comparison of mHealth apps for caring of older people available in Google's Play Store (Android system) and Apple's App Store (iOS system) were performed. Systematic review of previous relevant literature were conducted. The assessment criteria used for comparison were requirement for Internet connection, information of disease, size of app, diagnostics and assessment tools, medical calculator, dosage recommendations and indications, clinical updates, drugs interaction checker, and information on disease management.

    RESULTS: Twenty-five mHealth apps were assessed. Medscape and Skyscape Medical Library are the most comprehensive mHealth apps for general drug information, medical references, clinical score, and medical calculator. Alzheimer's Disease Pocketcard and Confusion: Delirium & Dementia: A Bedside Guide apps are recommended for clinical assessment, diagnosis, drug information, and management of geriatric patients with Alzheimer disease, delirium, and dementia.

    CONCLUSIONS: More studies about mHealth apps for caring of older people are warranted to ensure the quality and reliability of the mHealth apps.

    MeSH terms: Aged; Empathy*; Health Services for the Aged; Humans; Telemedicine; Mobile Applications/standards*
  8. Morse SS, Murugiah MK, Soh YC, Wong TW, Ming LC
    Ther Innov Regul Sci, 2018 05;52(3):383-391.
    PMID: 29714538 DOI: 10.1177/2168479017725557
    BACKGROUND: Despite the surge in mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) about pediatric care in commercial app stores, to our knowledge, reviews of the quality of such apps are lacking. Consequently, it is a great challenge for health care professionals (HCPs) to identify appropriate and reliable mHealth apps for delivering health care services. Thus, we performed a structured review of the extant literature about mHealth apps in pediatric care and quality assessment of selected apps found in commercial app stores.

    METHODS: A review and comparison of mHealth apps in pediatric care found in Google's Play Store (Android system) and Apple's App Store (iOS system) were performed. For the structured review of the available literature, Google Scholar, PubMed, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, and Science Direct online databases were used for the literature search. The assessment criteria used for comparison included requirement for Internet connection, size of application, information on disease, diagnostic tools, medical calculator, information on disease treatments, dosage recommendations, and drug interaction checker.

    RESULTS: Fifty mHealth apps for general pediatric care and 8 mHealth apps for specific pediatric diseases were discussed in the literature. Of the 90 mHealth apps we reviewed, 27 that fulfilled the study criteria were selected for quality assessment. Medscape, Skyscape, and iGuideline scored the highest (score=7), while PediaBP scored the lowest (score=3).

    CONCLUSIONS: Medscape, Skyscape, and iGuideline are the most comprehensive mHealth apps for HCPs as quick references for pediatric care. More studies about mHealth apps in pediatric care are warranted to ensure the quality and reliability of mHealth apps.

    MeSH terms: Child; Child Care; Humans; Telemedicine/methods*; Mobile Applications/standards*
  9. Wahid MNA, Abd Razak SI, Abdul Kadir MR, Hassan R, Nayan NHM, Mat Amin KA
    J Biomater Appl, 2018 07;33(1):94-102.
    PMID: 29716417 DOI: 10.1177/0885328218771195
    This work reports the modification of freeze/thaw poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel using citric acid as the bioactive molecule for hydroxyapatite formation in simulated body fluid. Inclusion of 1.3 mM citric acid into the poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel showed that the mechanical strength, crystalline phase, functional groups and swelling ability were still intact. Adding citric acid at higher concentrations (1.8 and 2.3 mM), however, resulted in physically poor hydrogels. Presence of 1.3 mM of citric acid showed the growth of porous hydroxyapatite crystals on the poly(vinyl alcohol) surface just after one day of immersion in simulated body fluid. Meanwhile, a fully covered apatite layer on the poly(vinyl alcohol) surface plus the evidence of apatite forming within the hydrogel were observed after soaking for seven days. Gel strength of the soaked poly(vinyl alcohol)/citric acid-1.3 mM hydrogel revealed that the load resistance was enhanced compared to that of the neat poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel. This facile method of inducing rapid growth of hydroxyapatite on the hydrogel surface as well as within the hydrogel network can be useful for guided bone regenerative materials.
    MeSH terms: Biocompatible Materials/chemistry*; Crystallization; Freezing; Polyvinyl Alcohol/chemistry*; Surface Properties; Temperature; Time Factors; Porosity; Durapatite/chemistry*; Citric Acid/chemistry*; Hydrogels/chemistry*; Phase Transition; Physical Phenomena; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  10. Afzal S, Sattar MA, Akhtar S, Binti Abdullah NA, Eseyin OA, Abdulla MH, et al.
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2018 May;31(3):747-754.
    PMID: 29716851
    Pioglitazone, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR-γ) agonist, is a therapeutic drug for diabetes. Present study investigated the interaction between PPAR-γ and alpha adrenoceptors in modulating vasopressor responses to Angiotensin II (Ang II) and adrenergic agonists, in diabetic & non-diabetic Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRs). Diabetes was induced with an i.p injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg) in two groups (STZ-CON, STZ-PIO), whereas two groups remained non diabetic (ND-CO, ND-PIO). One diabetic and non-diabetic group received Pioglitazone (10mg/kg) orally for 21 days. On day 28, the animals were anaesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone (60mg/kg) and prepared for measurement of systemic haemodynamics. Basal mean arterial pressure of STZ-CON was higher than ND-CON, whereas following pioglitazone treatment, MAP was lower compared to respective controls. MAP responses to i.v administration of NA, PE, ME and ANG II were significantly lower in diabetic SHRs: STZ-CON vs ND-CON (35%). Pioglitazone significantly decreased responses to NA, PE, ME and ANG II in ND-PIO versus ND-CON by 63%. Responses to NA and ANG II were significantly attenuated in STZ-PIO vs. ND-PIO (40%). PPAR-γ regulates systemic hemodynamic in diabetic model and cross-talk relationship exists between PPAR-γ and α1-adrenoceptors, ANG II in systemic vasculature of SHRs.
  11. Hussain G, Abbasi MA, Rehman A, Siddiqui SZ, Shah SAA, Ahmad I, et al.
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2018 May;31(3):857-866.
    PMID: 29716866
    In this work, a new series of 2-[4-(2-furoyl)-1-piperazinyl]-N-aryl/aralkyl acetamides has been synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial potential. The synthesis was initiated by the reaction of different aryl/aralkyl amines (1a-u) with 2-bromoacetylbromide (2) to obtain N-aryl/aralkyl-2-bromoacetamides (3a-u). Equimolar quantities of different N-aryl/aralkyl-2-bromoacetamides (3a-u) and 2-furoyl-1-piperazine (4) was allowed to react in acetonitrile and in the presence of K2CO3, to form 2-[4-(2-furoyl)-1-piperazinyl]-N-aryl/aralkyl acetamides (5a-u). The structural elucidation was done by EI-MS, IR and 1H-NMR techniques of all the synthesized compounds. All of the synthesized molecules were active against various Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains. Among them 5o and 5c showed very excellent MIC values. The cytotoxicity of the molecules was also checked to find their utility as possible therapeutic agents, where 5c (0.51%) and 5g (1.32%) are found to be least toxic in the series.
    MeSH terms: Acetamides; Acetonitriles; Amines; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Carbonates; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Piperazines; Potassium; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  12. van Velzen R, Holmer R, Bu F, Rutten L, van Zeijl A, Liu W, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2018 May 15;115(20):E4700-E4709.
    PMID: 29717040 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1721395115
    Nodules harboring nitrogen-fixing rhizobia are a well-known trait of legumes, but nodules also occur in other plant lineages, with rhizobia or the actinomycete Frankia as microsymbiont. It is generally assumed that nodulation evolved independently multiple times. However, molecular-genetic support for this hypothesis is lacking, as the genetic changes underlying nodule evolution remain elusive. We conducted genetic and comparative genomics studies by using Parasponia species (Cannabaceae), the only nonlegumes that can establish nitrogen-fixing nodules with rhizobium. Intergeneric crosses between Parasponia andersonii and its nonnodulating relative Trema tomentosa demonstrated that nodule organogenesis, but not intracellular infection, is a dominant genetic trait. Comparative transcriptomics of P. andersonii and the legume Medicago truncatula revealed utilization of at least 290 orthologous symbiosis genes in nodules. Among these are key genes that, in legumes, are essential for nodulation, including NODULE INCEPTION (NIN) and RHIZOBIUM-DIRECTED POLAR GROWTH (RPG). Comparative analysis of genomes from three Parasponia species and related nonnodulating plant species show evidence of parallel loss in nonnodulating species of putative orthologs of NIN, RPG, and NOD FACTOR PERCEPTION Parallel loss of these symbiosis genes indicates that these nonnodulating lineages lost the potential to nodulate. Taken together, our results challenge the view that nodulation evolved in parallel and raises the possibility that nodulation originated ∼100 Mya in a common ancestor of all nodulating plant species, but was subsequently lost in many descendant lineages. This will have profound implications for translational approaches aimed at engineering nitrogen-fixing nodules in crop plants.
    MeSH terms: Amino Acid Sequence; Biological Evolution*; Fabaceae/genetics*; Fabaceae/microbiology; Nitrogen/metabolism; Nitrogen Fixation*; Phenotype; Phylogeny; Plant Proteins/genetics*; Rhizobium/physiology*; Symbiosis*; Sequence Homology; Genomics/methods*; Root Nodules, Plant; Plant Root Nodulation/genetics*
  13. Mohamed Yusoff AA, Zulfakhar FN, Mohd Khair SZN, Wan Abdullah WS, Abdullah JM, Idris Z
    Brain Tumor Res Treat, 2018 Apr;6(1):31-38.
    PMID: 29717568 DOI: 10.14791/btrt.2018.6.e5
    BACKGROUND: Mitochondria are major cellular sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation which can induce mitochondrial DNA damage and lead to carcinogenesis. The mitochondrial 10398A>G alteration in NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3) can severely impair complex I, a key component of ROS production in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Alteration in ND3 10398A>G has been reported to be linked with diverse neurodegenerative disorders and cancers. The aim of this study was to find out the association of mitochondrial ND3 10398A>G alteration in brain tumor of Malaysian patients.

    METHODS: Brain tumor tissues and corresponding blood specimens were obtained from 45 patients. The ND3 10398A>G alteration at target codon 114 was detected using the PCR-RFLP analysis and later was confirmed by DNA sequencing.

    RESULTS: Twenty-six (57.8%) patients showed ND3 10398A>G mutation in their tumor specimens, in which 26.9% of these mutations were heterozygous mutations. ND3 10398A>G mutation was not significantly correlated with age, gender, and histological tumor grade, however was found more frequently in intra-axial than in extra-axial tumors (62.5% vs. 46.2%, p<0.01).

    CONCLUSION: For the first time, we have been able to describe the occurrence of ND3 10398A>G mutations in a Malaysian brain tumor population. It can be concluded that mitochondrial ND3 10398A>G alteration is frequently present in brain tumors among Malaysian population and it shows an impact on the intra-axial tumors.

    MeSH terms: Base Sequence; Brain Neoplasms; Codon; DNA, Mitochondrial; Electron Transport; Humans; Mitochondria; Mutation; NAD; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reactive Oxygen Species; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Electron Transport Complex I; Carcinogenesis
  14. Abidin MHZ, Abdullah N, Abidin NZ
    Int J Med Mushrooms, 2018;20(3):283-290.
    PMID: 29717672 DOI: 10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.2018025821
    This study evaluates the in vitro inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA) by Pleurotus pulmonarius extracts. The protective effect on the endothelial membrane against oxidative stress through the protection of nitric oxide bioavailability, as well as inhibition of endocan expression, was evaluated using human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). Crude cold aqueous extract exhibited the most potent inhibitory activities against ACE and HMG-CoA reductase, with 61.79% and 44.30% inhibition, respectively. It also protected the bioavailability of NO released by HAECs, with 84.88% cell viability. The crude hot water extract was the most potent in inhibiting endocan expression, with 18.61% inhibition.
    MeSH terms: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors/isolation & purification; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology*; Cell Membrane/drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Humans; Neoplasm Proteins/analysis; Nitric Oxide/analysis; Proteoglycans/analysis; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/isolation & purification; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/pharmacology*; Pleurotus/chemistry*; Endothelial Cells/drug effects; Complex Mixtures/isolation & purification; Complex Mixtures/pharmacology*
  15. Levis B, Benedetti A, Riehm KE, Saadat N, Levis AW, Azar M, et al.
    Br J Psychiatry, 2018 06;212(6):377-385.
    PMID: 29717691 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2018.54
    BACKGROUND: Different diagnostic interviews are used as reference standards for major depression classification in research. Semi-structured interviews involve clinical judgement, whereas fully structured interviews are completely scripted. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), a brief fully structured interview, is also sometimes used. It is not known whether interview method is associated with probability of major depression classification.AimsTo evaluate the association between interview method and odds of major depression classification, controlling for depressive symptom scores and participant characteristics.

    METHOD: Data collected for an individual participant data meta-analysis of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) diagnostic accuracy were analysed and binomial generalised linear mixed models were fit.

    RESULTS: A total of 17 158 participants (2287 with major depression) from 57 primary studies were analysed. Among fully structured interviews, odds of major depression were higher for the MINI compared with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) (odds ratio (OR) = 2.10; 95% CI = 1.15-3.87). Compared with semi-structured interviews, fully structured interviews (MINI excluded) were non-significantly more likely to classify participants with low-level depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 scores ≤6) as having major depression (OR = 3.13; 95% CI = 0.98-10.00), similarly likely for moderate-level symptoms (PHQ-9 scores 7-15) (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.56-1.66) and significantly less likely for high-level symptoms (PHQ-9 scores ≥16) (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.26-0.97).

    CONCLUSIONS: The MINI may identify more people as depressed than the CIDI, and semi-structured and fully structured interviews may not be interchangeable methods, but these results should be replicated.Declaration of interestDrs Jetté and Patten declare that they received a grant, outside the submitted work, from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, which was jointly funded by the Institute and Pfizer. Pfizer was the original sponsor of the development of the PHQ-9, which is now in the public domain. Dr Chan is a steering committee member or consultant of Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Lilly, MSD and Pfizer. She has received sponsorships and honorarium for giving lectures and providing consultancy and her affiliated institution has received research grants from these companies. Dr Hegerl declares that within the past 3 years, he was an advisory board member for Lundbeck, Servier and Otsuka Pharma; a consultant for Bayer Pharma; and a speaker for Medice Arzneimittel, Novartis, and Roche Pharma, all outside the submitted work. Dr Inagaki declares that he has received grants from Novartis Pharma, lecture fees from Pfizer, Mochida, Shionogi, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Daiichi-Sankyo, Meiji Seika and Takeda, and royalties from Nippon Hyoron Sha, Nanzando, Seiwa Shoten, Igaku-shoin and Technomics, all outside of the submitted work. Dr Yamada reports personal fees from Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., MSD K.K., Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Seishin Shobo, Seiwa Shoten Co., Ltd., Igaku-shoin Ltd., Chugai Igakusha and Sentan Igakusha, all outside the submitted work. All other authors declare no competing interests. No funder had any role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

    MeSH terms: Adult; Depression/classification; Depression/diagnosis*; Depressive Disorder, Major/classification; Depressive Disorder, Major/diagnosis*; Female; Humans; Interview, Psychological/methods*; Interview, Psychological/standards; Male; Probability; Meta-Analysis as Topic
  16. Guindi MN, Flaherty GT, Byrne M
    J Travel Med, 2018 01 01;25(1).
    PMID: 29718402 DOI: 10.1093/jtm/tay021
    MeSH terms: Air Pollution*; Environmental Health*; Environmental Monitoring; Humans; Risk; Travel*
  17. Romero M, Silistre H, Lovelock L, Wright VJ, Chan KG, Hong KW, et al.
    Nucleic Acids Res, 2018 Jul 27;46(13):6823-6840.
    PMID: 29718466 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky324
    Pseudomonads typically carry multiple non-identical alleles of the post-transcriptional regulator rsmA. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, RsmN is notable in that its structural rearrangement confers distinct and overlapping functions with RsmA. However, little is known about the specificities of RsmN for its target RNAs and overall impact on the biology of this pathogen. We purified and mapped 503 transcripts directly bound by RsmN in P. aeruginosa. About 200 of the mRNAs identified encode proteins of demonstrated function including some determining acute and chronic virulence traits. For example, RsmN reduces biofilm development both directly and indirectly via multiple pathways, involving control of Pel exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and c-di-GMP levels. The RsmN targets identified are also shared with RsmA, although deletion of rsmN generally results in less pronounced phenotypes than those observed for ΔrsmA or ΔrsmArsmNind mutants, probably as a consequence of different binding affinities. Targets newly identified for the Rsm system include the small non-coding RNA CrcZ involved in carbon catabolite repression, for which differential binding of RsmN and RsmA to specific CrcZ regions is demonstrated. The results presented here provide new insights into the intricacy of riboregulatory networks involving multiple but distinct RsmA homologues.
    MeSH terms: Type VI Secretion Systems/genetics; Type VI Secretion Systems/metabolism; Alginates/metabolism; Bacterial Proteins/genetics; Bacterial Proteins/metabolism*; Cyclic GMP/analogs & derivatives; Cyclic GMP/metabolism; Polysaccharides, Bacterial/biosynthesis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genetics*; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/metabolism; Repressor Proteins/metabolism; RNA, Messenger/metabolism*; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*; RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism*; Genome, Bacterial; Regulon; RNA, Small Untranslated/metabolism
  18. Ong SQ, Jaal Z
    J Insect Sci, 2018 Mar 01;18(2).
    PMID: 29718500 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iey032
    Larval age and nutrition significantly affected the insect's physiology. These influences are important when rearing a population of vectors that is used to monitor the resistance level, in which standardized conditions are crucial for a more harmonized result. Little information has been reported on the effects of larval age and nutrition on the susceptibility of insects to insecticides, and therefore, we studied the effects on the susceptibility of Culex quinquefasciatus Say's (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae to temephos by comparing the median lethal concentration (LC50) after 24 hr between the second and fourth instar larvae and between the larvae that fed on protein-based and carbohydrate-based larval diets. The susceptibility of the larvae was significantly affected by the larval diets, as the larvae that fed on protein-based beef food and milk food demonstrated significantly higher LC50 value compared with the larvae that fed on carbohydrate-based food: lab food and yeast food. The larval diet interacted significantly with the larval age: while the second instar larvae were susceptible to temephos when supplied with carbohydrate-based food, the second and fourth instar larvae had no significant effect when supplied with protein-based diets, implying that a protein-rich environment may cause the mosquito to be less susceptible to temephos. This study suggested the importance of standardizing nutrition when rearing a vector population in order to obtain more harmonized dosage-response results in an insecticide resistance monitoring program. Future research could focus on the biochemical mechanism between the nutrition and the enzymatic activities of the vector.
    MeSH terms: Temefos*; Age Factors; Animals; Culex*; Diet; Insecticides*; Larva; Lethal Dose 50
  19. Nasser AB, Zamli KZ, Alsewari AA, Ahmed BS
    PLoS One, 2018;13(5):e0195187.
    PMID: 29718918 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195187
    The application of meta-heuristic algorithms for t-way testing has recently become prevalent. Consequently, many useful meta-heuristic algorithms have been developed on the basis of the implementation of t-way strategies (where t indicates the interaction strength). Mixed results have been reported in the literature to highlight the fact that no single strategy appears to be superior compared with other configurations. The hybridization of two or more algorithms can enhance the overall search capabilities, that is, by compensating the limitation of one algorithm with the strength of others. Thus, hybrid variants of the flower pollination algorithm (FPA) are proposed in the current work. Four hybrid variants of FPA are considered by combining FPA with other algorithmic components. The experimental results demonstrate that FPA hybrids overcome the problems of slow convergence in the original FPA and offers statistically superior performance compared with existing t-way strategies in terms of test suite size.
    MeSH terms: Algorithms*; Models, Biological*; Flowers/physiology*; Pollination*
  20. Jeevanandam J, Barhoum A, Chan YS, Dufresne A, Danquah MK
    Beilstein J Nanotechnol, 2018;9:1050-1074.
    PMID: 29719757 DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.9.98
    Nanomaterials (NMs) have gained prominence in technological advancements due to their tunable physical, chemical and biological properties with enhanced performance over their bulk counterparts. NMs are categorized depending on their size, composition, shape, and origin. The ability to predict the unique properties of NMs increases the value of each classification. Due to increased growth of production of NMs and their industrial applications, issues relating to toxicity are inevitable. The aim of this review is to compare synthetic (engineered) and naturally occurring nanoparticles (NPs) and nanostructured materials (NSMs) to identify their nanoscale properties and to define the specific knowledge gaps related to the risk assessment of NPs and NSMs in the environment. The review presents an overview of the history and classifications of NMs and gives an overview of the various sources of NPs and NSMs, from natural to synthetic, and their toxic effects towards mammalian cells and tissue. Additionally, the types of toxic reactions associated with NPs and NSMs and the regulations implemented by different countries to reduce the associated risks are also discussed.
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