Browse publications by year: 2019

  1. Leow CY, Willis C, Leow CH, Hofmann A, Jones M
    Mol Biochem Parasitol, 2019 12;234:111231.
    PMID: 31628972 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2019.111231
    Schistosomes are parasitic blood flukes that infect approximately 250 million people worldwide. The disease known as schistosomiasis, is the second most significant tropical parasitic disease after malaria. Praziquantel is the only effective drug currently licensed for schistosomiasis and there are concerns about resistance to the drug. There has been much effort to develop vaccines against schistosomiasis to produce long-term protection in endemic regions. Surface-associated proteins, and in particular, those expressed in the body wall, or tegument, have been proposed as potential vaccine targets. Of these, annexins are thought to be of integral importance for the stability of this apical membrane system. Here, we present the structural and immunobiochemical characterization of four homologous annexins namely annexin B30, annexin B5a, annexin B7a and annexin B5b from S. mansoni. Bioinformatics analysis showed that there was no signal peptide predicted for any annexin in this study. Further analysis showed that each of all four annexin protein possesses a primary structure consisting of a short but variable N-terminal region and a long C-terminal core containing four homologous annexin repeats (I-IV), which contain five alpha-helices. The life cycle expression profile of each annexin was assessed using quantitative PCR. The results showed that the overall transcript levels of the each of four homologous annexins were relatively low in the egg stage, but increased gradually after the transition of cercariae (the invasive schistosome larvae) to schistosomula (the post-invasive larvae). Circular dichroism (CD) demonstrated that rAnnexin B30, rAnnexin B5a and rAnnexin 7a were folded, showing a secondary structure content rich in alpha-helices. The membrane binding affinity was enhanced when rAnnexin B30, rAnnexin B5a and rAnnexin 7a was incubated in the presence of Ca2+. All annexin members evaluated in this study were immunolocalized to the tegument, with immunoreactivity also occurring in cells and in muscle of adult parasites. All four recombinant annexins were immunoreactive and they were recognized by the sera of mice infected with S. mansoni. In conclusion, the overall results present the molecular characterization of annexin B30, annexin B5a, annexin B7a and annexin B5b from S. mansoni in host-parasite interactions and strongly suggest that the molecules could be useful candidates for vaccine or diagnostic development.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Calcium; Circular Dichroism; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Host-Parasite Interactions; Larva; Malaria; Membrane Proteins; Muscles; Parasites; Praziquantel; Schistosoma; Schistosomiasis; Vaccines; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Annexins; Protein Structure, Secondary; Computational Biology; Protein Sorting Signals; Mice; Cercaria; Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical
  2. Kwong MMY, Lee JW, Samian MR, Watanabe N, Osada H, Ong EBB
    J Microbiol Methods, 2019 12;167:105743.
    PMID: 31629019 DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2019.105743
    This study compared the chronological life span and survival of Saccharomyces cerevisiae aged in a microplate or bottle, under different aeration and calorie restriction conditions. Our data shows that limited aeration in the microplate-aged culture contributed to slower outgrowth but extended yeast CLS compared to the bottle-aged culture.
    MeSH terms: Microbiological Techniques/instrumentation; Microbiological Techniques/methods*; Saccharomyces cerevisiae/growth & development*; Caloric Restriction; Microbial Viability
  3. Mosiun JA, Idris MSB, Teoh LY, Teh MS, Chandran PA, See MH
    Int J Surg Case Rep, 2019;64:109-112.
    PMID: 31629292 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2019.10.003
    INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer metastasis to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is rare and occurs more frequently in invasive lobular carcinoma. Patients may be asymptomatic or present with variable vague symptoms that may be mistakenly attributed to side effects of chemotherapy or other benign GI diseases. Treatment follows the principles of systemic disease and includes hormonal therapy, chemotherapy and signal transduction inhibitors, with surgical intervention indicated for complications such as obstruction, perforation and hemorrhage.

    PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present the case of a female patient with a history of invasive lobular breast carcinoma who had undergone mastectomy and axillary dissection, followed by chemoradiotherapy. Over the next nine years, she developed ovarian and bone metastases for which appropriate treatment was provided. A right iliac fossa mass was discovered during routine clinic review, though she remained asymptomatic. Computed tomography scan showed ileocecal intussusception. Histopathological examination of the right hemicolectomy specimen following emergency surgery confirmed metastatic invasive lobular carcinoma to the GI tract.

    DISCUSSION: GI tract metastasis may present 30 years after the primary breast cancer. Up to 20% of patients may be asymptomatic as shown by Montagna et al. When present, symptoms are commonly non-specific and vague. Histological diagnosis is challenging. GI metastasis typically appears as intramural infiltration of the bowel wall by small cells arranged in cords.

    CONCLUSION: It is important to maintain a suspicion for GI tract metastasis in breast cancer patients who present with abdominal mass or GI symptoms, as this aids in prompt institution of accurate and appropriate management.

    MeSH terms: Breast Neoplasms; Colectomy; Female; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Humans; Ilium; Intussusception; Mastectomy; Tomography; Signal Transduction; Carcinoma, Lobular; Chemoradiotherapy
  4. Wazir H, Chay SY, Zarei M, Hussin FS, Mustapha NA, Wan Ibadullah WZ, et al.
    Antioxidants (Basel), 2019 Oct 16;8(10).
    PMID: 31623062 DOI: 10.3390/antiox8100486
    Studies on the oxidative changes in meat-based, low-moisture, ready to eat foods are complicated due to complex food system and slow lipid-protein oxidative deterioration. The current study evaluates the oxidative changes over six months of storage on shredded beef and chicken products (locally known as serunding) for physicochemical analysis, lipid oxidation (conjugated dienes and malondialdehydes) and protein co-oxidation (soluble protein content, amino acid composition, protein carbonyl, tryptophan loss and Schiff base fluorescence) at 25 °C, 40 °C and 60 °C. The lipid stability of chicken serunding was significantly lower than beef serunding, illustrated by higher conjugated dienes content and higher rate of malondialdehyde formation during storage. In terms of protein co-oxidation, chicken serunding with higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) experienced more severe oxidation, as seen from lower protein solubility, higher protein carbonyl and Schiff base formation compared to beef serunding. To conclude, chicken serunding demonstrates lower lipid and protein stability and exhibits higher rate of lipid oxidation and protein co-oxidation than beef serunding. These findings provide insights on the progression of lipid oxidation and protein co-oxidation in cooked, shredded meat products and could be extrapolated to minimize possible adverse effects arising from lipid oxidation and protein co-oxidation, on the quality of low-moisture, high-lipid, high-protein foods.
  5. Aziz SB, B Marif R, Brza MA, Hamsan MH, Kadir MFZ
    Polymers (Basel), 2019 Oct 16;11(10).
    PMID: 31623158 DOI: 10.3390/polym11101694
    In the current paper, ion transport parameters in poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) based solid polymer electrolyte were examined using Trukhan model successfully. The desired amount of lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiCF3SO3) was dissolved in PVA host polymer to synthesis of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs). Ion transport parameters such as mobility (μ), diffusion coefficient (D), and charge carrier number density (n) are investigated in detail using impedance spectroscopy. The data results from impedance plots illustrated a decrement of bulk resistance with an increase in temperature. Using electrical equivalent circuits (EEC), electrical impedance plots (ZivsZr) are fitted at various temperatures. The results of impedance study demonstrated that the resistivity of the sample decreases with increasing temperature. The decrease of resistance or impedance with increasing temperature distinguished from Bode plots. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss values increased with an increase in temperature. The loss tangent peaks shifted to higher frequency region and the intensity increased with an increase in temperature. In this contribution, ion transport as a complicated subject in polymer physics is studied. The conductivity versus reciprocal of temperature was found to obey Arrhenius behavior type. The ion transport mechanism is discussed from the tanδ spectra. The ion transport parameters at ambient temperature are found to be 9 × 10-8 cm2/s, 0.8 × 1017 cm-3, and 3 × 10-6 cm2/Vs for D, n, andμ respectively. All these parameters have shown increasing as temperature increased. The electric modulus parameters are studied in an attempt to understand the relaxation dynamics and to clarify the relaxation process and ion dynamics relationship.
    MeSH terms: Electricity; Electrolytes; Lithium; Mesylates; Physics; Polymers; Polyvinyl Chloride; Temperature; Electric Impedance; Ion Transport; Dielectric Spectroscopy
  6. Midot F, Lau SYL, Wong WC, Tung HJ, Yap ML, Lo ML, et al.
    Microorganisms, 2019 Oct 16;7(10).
    PMID: 31623251 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7100464
    Ganoderma boninense causes basal stem rot (BSR) and is responsible for substantial economic losses to Southeast Asia's palm oil industry. Sarawak, a major producer in Malaysia, is also affected by this disease. Emergence of BSR in oil palm planted on peat throughout Sarawak is alarming as the soil type was previously regarded as non-conducive. Phylogenetic analysis indicated a single species, G. boninense as the cause of BSR in Sarawak. Information on evolutionary and demographic history for G. boninense in Sarawak inferred through informative genes is lacking. Hence, a haplotype study on single nucleotide polymorphisms in internal transcribed spacers (SNPs-ITS) of G. boninense was carried out. Sequence variations were analysed for population structure, phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships. The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) region of 117 isolates from four populations in eight locations across Sarawak coastal areas revealed seven haplotypes. A major haplotype, designated GbHap1 (81.2%), was found throughout all sampling locations. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were observed mainly in the ITS1 region. The genetic structure was not detected, and genetic distance did not correlate with geographical distance. Haplotype network analysis suggested evidence of recent demographic expansion. Low genetic differences among populations also suggested that these isolates belong to a single G. boninense founder population adapting to oil palm as the host.
  7. Vakili M, Amouzgar P, Cagnetta G, Wang B, Guo X, Mojiri A, et al.
    Polymers (Basel), 2019 Oct 16;11(10).
    PMID: 31623271 DOI: 10.3390/polym11101701
    A composite chitosan/nano-activated carbon (CS-NAC) aminated by (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) was prepared in the form of beads and applied for the removal of acetaminophen from aqueous solutions. NAC and APTES concentrations were optimized to obtain a suitable adsorbent structure for enhanced removal of the pharmaceutical. The aminated adsorbent (CS-NAC-APTES beads) prepared with 40% w/w NAC and 2% v/v APTES showed higher adsorption capacity (407.83 mg/g) than CS-NAC beads (278.4 mg/g). Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis demonstrated that the surface area of the CS-NAC-APTES beads was larger than that of CS-NAC beads (1.16 times). The adsorption process was well fitted by the Freundlich model (R2 > 0.95), suggesting a multilayer adsorption. The kinetic study also substantiated that the pseudo-second-order model (R2 > 0.98) was in better agreement with the experimental data. Finally, it was proved that the prepared beads can be recycled (by washing with NaOH solution) at least 5 times before detectable performance loss.
    MeSH terms: Acetaminophen; Adsorption; Carbon; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Propylamines; Silanes; Chitosan
  8. Fam SY, Chee CF, Yong CY, Ho KL, Mariatulqabtiah AR, Lau HY, et al.
    Int J Mol Sci, 2019 Oct 03;20(19).
    PMID: 31623310 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20194903
    Virus-like nanoparticles (VLNPs) have been studied extensively as nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery to cancer cells. However, VLNPs have intrinsic drawbacks, in particular, potential antigenicity and immunogenicity, which hamper their clinical applications. Thus, they can be eliminated easily and rapidly by host immune systems, rendering these nanoparticles ineffective for drug delivery. The aim of this study was to reduce the antigenicity of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) VLNPs by shielding them with a hydrophilic polymer, poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx). In the present study, an amine-functionalized PEtOx (PEtOx-NH2) was synthesized using the living cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) technique and covalently conjugated to HBcAg VLNPs via carboxyl groups. The PEtOx-conjugated HBcAg (PEtOx-HBcAg) VLNPs were characterized with dynamic light scattering and UV-visible spectroscopy. The colloidal stability study indicated that both HBcAg and PEtOx-HBcAg VLNPs maintained their particle size in Tris-buffered saline (TBS) at human body temperature (37 °C) for at least five days. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) demonstrated that the antigenicity of PEtOx-HBcAg VLNPs reduced significantly as compared with unconjugated HBcAg VLNPs. This novel conjugation approach provides a general platform for resolving the antigenicity of VLNPs, enabling them to be developed into a variety of nanovehicles for targeted drug delivery.
    MeSH terms: Dynamic Light Scattering; Hepatitis B Core Antigens/chemistry; Hepatitis B virus*; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Polyethylene Glycols/chemistry; Molecular Structure; Drug Delivery Systems*; Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic
  9. Chandirasekar R, Murugan K, Muralisankar T, Uthayakumar V, Jayakumar R, Mohan K, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2019 Oct 17;9(1):14898.
    PMID: 31624274 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51275-w
    Smoking and smokeless tobacco consumption is a significant risk factor that provokes genetic alterations. The present investigation was to evaluate the biomarkers of genotoxicity including micronucleus (MN), chromosome aberrations (CA) and DNA strand breaks among tobacco consumers and control individuals residing in hilly areas of Western Ghats, Tamilnadu, South India. This study included 268 tobacco consumers with equal number of controls. The tobacco consumers were divided into Group I (<10 years of tobacco consumption with an age range from 15 to 35 years) and group II (>10 years consumption above 35 years of age). Chromosome aberration (CA) and comet assay were performed using blood and micronucleus assay from exfoliated buccal epithelial cells obtained from tobacco consumers and controls. Elevated levels of CA were found in group II (Chromatid type: 2.39 ± 1.13 and chromosome type: 1.44 ± 1.24) exposed subjects, high micronucleus and DNA damage (TL:4.48 ± 1.24 and TM:3.40 ± 1.58) levels were significantly (p 
    MeSH terms: Abortion, Spontaneous/chemically induced; Abortion, Spontaneous/epidemiology*; Adult; Aged; DNA Damage/drug effects*; Epithelial Cells/pathology; Female; Humans; India/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Mouth Mucosa/pathology; Time Factors; Tobacco, Smokeless/toxicity*; Micronucleus Tests/statistics & numerical data; Case-Control Studies; Comet Assay/statistics & numerical data; Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective/chemically induced*; Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective/statistics & numerical data; Young Adult; Tobacco Use/adverse effects*; Tobacco Use/blood
  10. Lim JTS, Kang WJ, Ajit Bapat R, Kanneppady SK, Pandurangappa R
    J Maxillofac Oral Surg, 2019 Dec;18(4):596-603.
    PMID: 31624443 DOI: 10.1007/s12663-018-1168-2
    Objectives: The risk of damaging the mandibular incisive canal (MIC) during surgery in the anterior mandible should not be overlooked. Hence, preoperative radiographic assessment is essential to avoid complications. This study was aimed to estimate the length of the MIC in the interforaminal safe zone, to analyse its course in relation to the lingual and the buccal cortical plates of the mandible using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans and to relate the above findings to age, gender, dental status and Malaysian races.

    Methods: Retrospective analysis of 100 CBCT scans (n = 200) was performed on both sides of the mandible. Cross-sectional and panoramic images were reconstructed. The length of the MIC and the horizontal distances between the MIC and the buccal and the lingual cortical plates were measured at the three different points (starting, mid-, end points). Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA test were used to analyse the variation in the length and course of the MIC in gender, age, dental status and Malaysian races.

    Results: The mean length of the MIC was 11.31 ± 2.65 mm, with the Malays having the longest MIC, followed by the Chinese and the Indians (p 

    MeSH terms: Analysis of Variance; Cerebral Cortex; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Mandible; Retrospective Studies; Tongue; Palate, Hard; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Spiral Cone-Beam Computed Tomography
  11. Da Silva RD, Leow JJ, Abidin ZA, Linden-Castro E, Castro EIB, Blanco LT, et al.
    Int Braz J Urol, 2019 10 19;45(5):882-888.
    PMID: 31626517 DOI: 10.1590/S1677-5538.IBJU.2019.05.04
    MeSH terms: Confidentiality; Humans; Physician-Patient Relations; Practice Patterns, Physicians'/trends; Urology/methods; Urology/trends*; Health Communication/methods; Health Communication/trends; Social Media/trends*
  12. Ruslan SA, Muharam FM, Zulkafli Z, Omar D, Zambri MP
    PLoS One, 2019;14(10):e0223968.
    PMID: 31626637 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223968
    Metisa plana (Walker) is a leaf defoliating pest that is able to cause staggering economical losses to oil palm cultivation. Considering the economic devastation that the pest could bring, an early warning system to predict its outbreak is crucial. The state of art of satellite technologies are now able to derive environmental factors such as relative humidity (RH) that may influence pest population's fluctuations in rapid, harmless, and cost-effective manners. This study examined the relationship between the presence of Metisa plana at different time lags and remote sensing (RS) derived RH by using statistical and machine learning approaches. Metisa plana census data of cumulated larvae instar 1, 2, 3, and 4 were collected biweekly in 2014 and 2015 in an oil palm plantation in Muadzam Shah, Pahang, Malaysia. Relative humidity values derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images were apportioned to 6 time lags; 1 week (T1), 2 weeks (T2), 3 week (T3), 4 weeks (T4), 5 week (T5) and 6 weeks (T6) and paired with the respective census data. Pearson's correlation was carried out to analyse the relationship between Metisa plana and RH at different time lags. Regression analyses and artificial neural network (ANN) were also conducted to develop the best prediction model of Metisa plana's outbreak. The results showed relatively high correlations, positively or negatively, between the presences of Metisa plana with RH ranging from 0.46 to 0.99. ANN was found to be superior to regression models with the adjusted coefficient of determination (R2) between the actual and predicted Metisa plana values ranging from 0.06 to 0.57 versus 0.00 to 0.05. The analysis on the best time lags illustrated that the multiple time lags were more influential on the Metisa plana population than the individual time lags. The best Metisa plana prediction model was derived from T1, T2 and T3 multiple time lags modelled using the ANN algorithm with R2 value of 0.57, errors below 1.14 and accuracies above 93%. Based on the result of this study, the elucidation of Metisa plana's landscape ecology was possible with the utilization of RH as the predictor variable in consideration of the time lag effects of RH on the pest's population.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Environmental Monitoring/methods; Humidity; Lepidoptera/growth & development*; Lepidoptera/physiology; Population Density; Regression Analysis; Neural Networks (Computer)*; Arecaceae/parasitology*; Satellite Imagery
  13. Mutazah R, Hamid HA, Mazila Ramli AN, Fasihi Mohd Aluwi MF, Yusoff MM
    Food Chem Toxicol, 2019 Oct 15.
    PMID: 31626839 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2019.110869
    Clinacanthus nutans has attracted Malaysian public interest due to its high medicinal value in the prevention of cancer. Currently, the specific compound or compounds giving rise to the anticancer potential of C. nutans has not been investigated thoroughly. The extraction was carried out by MeOH at room temperature using the powdered bark of C. nutans, while chromatography was carried out on a silica gel RP-18 column using the crude methanolic extract. Six fractions collected from column chromatography were evaluated by MTT assay against two breast cancer cell lines: MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. Amongst the fractions, A12 and A17 were shown to exhibit the highest activity. Two sulphur-containing compounds, viz., entadamide C (1) and clinamide D (2), were isolated from these fractions. Molecular docking simulation studies revealed that entadamide C and clinamide D could bind favourably to the caspase-3 binding site with the binding energy of -4.28 kcal/mol and -4.84 kcal/mol, respectively. This study provides empirical evidence for the presence of sulphur-containing compounds in the leaves of C. nutans that displayed anticancer effects which explains its ethnomedicinal application against breast cancer. The docking simulation study showed that both compounds could serve as important templates for future drug design and development.
    MeSH terms: Methanol; Binding Sites; Breast Neoplasms; Chromatography; Humans; Medicine, Traditional; Sulfur; Temperature; Drug Design; Plant Leaves; Acanthaceae; Caspase 3; Silica Gel; MCF-7 Cells; Molecular Docking Simulation
  14. Chong HY, Leow CY, Abdul Majeed AB, Leow CH
    Virus Res, 2019 12;274:197770.
    PMID: 31626874 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2019.197770
    Flaviviruses are group of single stranded RNA viruses that cause severe endemic infection and epidemics on a global scale. It presents a significant health impact worldwide and the viruses have the potential to emerge and outbreak in a non-endemic geographical region. Effective vaccines for prophylaxis are only available for several flaviviruses such as Yellow Fever virus, Tick-borne Encephalitis Virus, Dengue Virus and Japanese Encephalitis Virus and there is no antiflaviviral agent being marketed. This review discusses the flavivirus genome, replication cycle, epidemiology, clinical presentation and pathogenesis upon infection. Effective humoral response is critical to confer protective immunity against flaviviruses. Hence, we have also highlighted the immune responses elicited upon infection, various diagnostic facilities available for flaviviral disease and monoclonal antibodies available to date against flavivirus infection.
    MeSH terms: Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use; Antiviral Agents/immunology; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use; Flavivirus/genetics; Flavivirus/immunology*; Flavivirus/isolation & purification*; Flavivirus/physiology; Humans; Viral Vaccines/immunology; Viral Vaccines/therapeutic use; Virus Replication; Biomarkers/blood; Genome, Viral; Viral Nonstructural Proteins/blood; Viral Nonstructural Proteins/immunology; Flavivirus Infections/diagnosis*; Flavivirus Infections/drug therapy; Flavivirus Infections/immunology*; Flavivirus Infections/pathology
  15. Ahmed AAA, Al-Shami AM, Jamshed S, Fata Nahas AR
    BMC Public Health, 2019 Oct 16;19(1):1300.
    PMID: 31619202 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-7596-1
    BACKGROUND: The awareness of symptoms and action towards heart attack and stroke is important to reduce the morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire on awareness and action towards symptoms and risk factors of heart attack and stroke among lay public in Malaysia. The questionnaire was developed in both English and Bahasa Melayu.

    METHODS: Primarily the questions were generated in English. Face and content validity were performed by five experts in Pharmacy Practice and Medicine. A translation as per guidelines into Malay language was performed; followed by face-to-face interview of 96 lay public in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. For internal consistency, reliability was assessed utilizing Cronbach's alpha.

    RESULTS: The mean ± SD of the awareness and action towards heart attack symptoms and risk factors was 65.52 ± 6.3, with a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.75), whereas the mean of the awareness and action towards stroke symptoms and risk factors was 61.93 ± 7.11, with an accepted internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86).

    CONCLUSION: The current validation research showed that the developed questionnaire is valid and reliable for assessing the awareness and action towards symptoms and risk factors of heart attack and stroke among lay public in Malaysia.

    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Female; Humans; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Myocardial Infarction/prevention & control*; Surveys and Questionnaires*; Risk Factors; Translations; Reproducibility of Results; Stroke/prevention & control*; Young Adult
  16. Hu L, Xu Z, Wang M, Fan R, Yuan D, Wu B, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2019 10 16;10(1):4702.
    PMID: 31619678 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12607-6
    Black pepper (Piper nigrum), dubbed the 'King of Spices' and 'Black Gold', is one of the most widely used spices. Here, we present its reference genome assembly by integrating PacBio, 10x Chromium, BioNano DLS optical mapping, and Hi-C mapping technologies. The 761.2 Mb sequences (45 scaffolds with an N50 of 29.8 Mb) are assembled into 26 pseudochromosomes. A phylogenomic analysis of representative plant genomes places magnoliids as sister to the monocots-eudicots clade and indicates that black pepper has diverged from the shared Laurales-Magnoliales lineage approximately 180 million years ago. Comparative genomic analyses reveal specific gene expansions in the glycosyltransferase, cytochrome P450, shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase, lysine decarboxylase, and acyltransferase gene families. Comparative transcriptomic analyses disclose berry-specific upregulated expression in representative genes in each of these gene families. These data provide an evolutionary perspective and shed light on the metabolic processes relevant to the molecular basis of species-specific piperine biosynthesis.
    MeSH terms: Acyltransferases/genetics; Alkaloids/biosynthesis*; Carboxy-Lyases/genetics; Chromosome Mapping; Chromosomes; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/genetics; Phylogeny; Piperidines; Glycosyltransferases/genetics; Genome, Plant*; Gene Expression Profiling; Genomics; Piper nigrum/genetics*; Benzodioxoles; Polyunsaturated Alkamides
  17. Burstein R, Henry NJ, Collison ML, Marczak LB, Sligar A, Watson S, et al.
    Nature, 2019 Oct;574(7778):353-358.
    PMID: 31619795 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1545-0
    Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2-to end preventable child deaths by 2030-we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000-2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations.
    MeSH terms: Child; Geography; Humans; Infant; Infant Mortality/trends*; Infant, Newborn; Organizational Objectives; Public Health; Socioeconomic Factors; United Nations; Global Health; Child Mortality/trends*
  18. Iqbal MZ, Khan AH, Iqbal MS, Syed Sulaiman SA
    J Pharm Bioallied Sci, 2019 10 18;11(4):299-309.
    PMID: 31619911 DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_138_19
    A strict and adherence treatment is required by the patient with diabetes mellitus and it demands a proper self-medication by the patient. Pharmacists are involved in providing self-management support to the patients. This review evaluates the interventions of pharmacist for patients to improve self-management with diabetes mellitus and also to improve the clinical outcomes of diabetes mellitus. A comprehensive literature search was performed by using different keywords "pharmacist-led intervention," "diabetes," "effect of pharmacist on outcome of diabetes," and "self-management of diabetes" with the help of various electronic databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from the beginning of the database through September 2018. The primary outcome was glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), whereas the secondary outcomes were blood glucose level, blood pressure (BP) measure, body mass index, lipids, adherence to medication, and quality of life. Twenty-five studies comprising 2997 diabetic patients were included in the analysis. Pharmacist-led intervention was involved in all included studies in the form of education on diabetes and its complications, medication adherence, lifestyle, and education about self-management skills. Pharmacist-led interventions are able to reduce HbA1c levels with a mean of 0.75%. Most studies do not expose the material and methods used in pharmacist-led intervention. The variation in the reduction of HbA1c, fasting blood sugar, BP, and lipid profile was due to the lack of this standardization. The included studies indicated that pharmacist-led interventions in diabetes mellitus can significantly improve the outcomes of diabetes mellitus and its complication later on. Hence, these long-term improvements in outcomes added more value of pharmacists in health-care system of the world.
    MeSH terms: Blood Glucose; Blood Pressure; Blood Pressure Determination; Fasting; Humans; Libraries; Life Style; Lipids; Pharmacists; Quality of Life; Self Medication; Body Mass Index; PubMed; Medication Adherence
  19. Bitar AN, Syed Sulaiman SA, Ali IAH, Khan I, Khan AH
    J Pharm Bioallied Sci, 2019 10 18;11(4):310-320.
    PMID: 31619912 DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_126_19
    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be associated with systemic inflammatory trademarks and can coexist with other chronic debilitating diseases such as osteoporosis, which is considered among the most serious comorbidities of COPD. In this review, we aimed at finding answers for the following questions and tried to encapsulate the available literature: (1) how prevalent is osteoporosis among patients with COPD? (2) What are severity patterns of osteoporosis in case of COPD? (3) What are the therapeutic outcomes for patients with osteoporotic COPD? The total number of patients with COPD from all studies was 3815, majority of which were male (2658) representing 69.67% of patients. The mean ± standard deviation for percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1%) was 55.43 ± 14.62%, body mass index for almost 91.29% of patients was 24.4 ± 4.45 kg/m2, whereas fat-free mass index (FFMI) was 17 ± 0.93 kg/m2 for 17.66%. The percentage of patients with COPD having osteoporosis varied in the analyzed studies from 14% up to 66.6%. The mean prevalence of reported osteopenia from 14 studies (n = 2107) was 39.91%, whereas for osteoporosis, the mean prevalence was 37.62% for all included studies. Osteoporosis was highly prevalent among patients with COPD. It is reasonable to call for osteoporosis screening in patients with COPD who are above 65 years, in advanced stages, with BMI lower than 21 kg/m2 or with FFMI lower than 16 kg/m2 for males and 15 kg/m2 for females. There is a lack of research investigating severity and treatments of osteoporosis in patients with COPD.
    MeSH terms: Bone Diseases, Metabolic; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; Male; Osteoporosis; Comorbidity; Body Mass Index; Prevalence; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
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