Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 59 in total

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  1. Manuel AM, Kuljit S, Gopalakrishnan G, Suresh KG, Balraj P
    Trop Biomed, 2012 Sep;29(3):360-5.
    PMID: 23018498 MyJurnal
    The purpose of this study is to determine the relevance of the hygiene hypothesis; that is to determine if worm infestation has a protective role against the development of allergic rhinitis. A prospective case controlled study was conducted. Specific IgG levels to Toxocara were studied in 85 patients confirmed to have allergic rhinitis and were compared to levels in another 85 controls, with no form of allergy. The IgG assay was done using ELISA technique. There was a higher incidence of positive specific IgG to Toxocara in the controls as compared to allergic patients. The values were statistically significant [Chi square test (p=0.002)]. This negative association between worm infestation and allergic rhinitis suggests that a previous worm infestation could protect against the development of allergic rhinitis.
  2. Dumbre DK, Mozammel T, Selvakannan P, Hamid SB, Choudhary VR, Bhargava SK
    J Colloid Interface Sci, 2015 Mar 1;441:52-8.
    PMID: 25490562 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.11.018
    Thermal decomposition of co-precipitated Ni-Fe-HT materials led to the formation a mesoporous Ni-Fe-HT catalyst and we have demonstrated here its active role as solid and active catalyst for the Knoevenagel condensation reaction of various aldehydes with active methylene compounds (R-CH2-CN, where R=CN or CO2Et). High product yields are obtained at moderate temperature under solvent-free conditions and the catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction mixture, simply by filtration and reused several times without a significant loss of its activity. Since these mesoporous metal oxides derived from the NiFe hydrotalcites, their basicity mediated abstraction of the acidic protons from the active methylene compounds was responsible for their catalytic activity under solvent-free conditions.
  3. Ali E, Sultana S, Hamid SBA, Hossain M, Yehya WA, Kader A, et al.
    Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2018 Jun 13;58(9):1495-1511.
    PMID: 28033035 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2016.1264361
    Gelatin is a highly purified animal protein of pig, cow, and fish origins and is extensively used in food, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. However, the acceptability of gelatin products greatly depends on the animal sources of the gelatin. Porcine and bovine gelatins have attractive features but limited acceptance because of religious prohibitions and potential zoonotic threats, whereas fish gelatin is welcomed in all religions and cultures. Thus, source authentication is a must for gelatin products but it is greatly challenging due to the breakdown of both protein and DNA biomarkers in processed gelatins. Therefore, several methods have been proposed for gelatin identification, but a comprehensive and systematic document that includes all of the techniques does not exist. This up-to-date review addresses this research gap and presents, in an accessible format, the major gelatin source authentication techniques, which are primarily nucleic acid and protein based. Instead of presenting these methods in paragraph form which needs much attention in reading, the major methods are schematically depicted, and their comparative features are tabulated. Future technologies are forecasted, and challenges are outlined. Overall, this review paper has the merit to serve as a reference guide for the production and application of gelatin in academia and industry and will act as a platform for the development of improved methods for gelatin authentication.
  4. Khalil I, Julkapli NM, Yehye WA, Basirun WJ, Bhargava SK
    Materials (Basel), 2016 May 24;9(6).
    PMID: 28773528 DOI: 10.3390/ma9060406
    Graphene is a single-atom-thick two-dimensional carbon nanosheet with outstanding chemical, electrical, material, optical, and physical properties due to its large surface area, high electron mobility, thermal conductivity, and stability. These extraordinary features of graphene make it a key component for different applications in the biosensing and imaging arena. However, the use of graphene alone is correlated with certain limitations, such as irreversible self-agglomerations, less colloidal stability, poor reliability/repeatability, and non-specificity. The addition of gold nanostructures (AuNS) with graphene produces the graphene-AuNS hybrid nanocomposite which minimizes the limitations as well as providing additional synergistic properties, that is, higher effective surface area, catalytic activity, electrical conductivity, water solubility, and biocompatibility. This review focuses on the fundamental features of graphene, the multidimensional synthesis, and multipurpose applications of graphene-Au nanocomposites. The paper highlights the graphene-gold nanoparticle (AuNP) as the platform substrate for the fabrication of electrochemical and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based biosensors in diverse applications as well as SERS-directed bio-imaging, which is considered as an emerging sector for monitoring stem cell differentiation, and detection and treatment of cancer.
  5. Thergarajan G, Govind SK, Bhassu S
    Parasitol Res, 2018 Jan;117(1):177-187.
    PMID: 29188368 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-017-5688-3
    Blastocystis sp. is known to be the most commonly found intestinal protozoan parasite in human fecal surveys and has been incriminated to cause diarrhea and abdominal bloating. Binary fission has been widely accepted as the plausible mode of reproduction for this parasite. The present study demonstrates that subjecting the parasites in vitro to higher temperature shows the proliferation of parasite numbers in cultures. Transmission electron microscopy was used to compare the morphology of Blastocystis sp. subtype 3 isolated from a dengue patient having high fever (in vivo thermal stress) and Blastocystis sp. 3 maintained at 41 °C (in vitro thermal stress) and 37 °C (control). Fluorescence stains like acridine orange (AO) and 4',6'-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) were used to demonstrate the viability and nuclear content of the parasite for both the in vitro and in vivo thermal stress groups of parasites. Blastocystis sp. at 37 °C was found to be mostly vacuolar whereas the in vitro thermal stressed isolates at 41 °C were granular with electron dense material seen to protect the granules within the central body. Parasites of the in vivo thermal stressed group showed similar ultrastructure as the in vitro ones. AO and DAPI staining provided evidence that these granules are viable which develop into progenies of Blastocystis sp. These granular forms were then observed to rupture and release progenies from the mother cells whilst the peripheral cytoplasmic walls were seen to degrade. Upon exposure to high temperature both in vitro and in vivo, Blastocystis sp. in cultures show higher number of granular forms seen to be protected by the electron dense material within the central body possibly acting as a protective mechanism. This is possibly to ensure the ability to survive for the granules to be developed as viable progenies for release into the host system.
  6. De Pretto L, Acreman S, Ashfold MJ, Mohankumar SK, Campos-Arceiz A
    PLoS One, 2015;10(12):e0143655.
    PMID: 26646896 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143655
    Transboundary haze episodes caused by seasonal forest fires have become a recurrent phenomenon in Southeast Asia, with serious environmental, economic, and public health implications. Here we present a cross-sectional survey conducted among people in Kuala Lumpur and surrounds to assess the links between knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to the transboundary haze episodes. Of 305 respondents, 125 were amateur athletes participating in a duathlon event and the remainder were surveyed in an inner-city shopping mall. Across the whole sample, people who possessed more factual information about the haze phenomenon showed significantly higher levels of concern. Duathletes were more knowledgeable than non-duathletes and also more concerned about the negative effects of haze, especially on health. For all people who regularly practice outdoor sports (including people interviewed at the shopping mall), higher levels of knowledge and concerned attitudes translated into a greater likelihood of engaging in protective practices, such as cancelling their outdoor training sessions, while those with greater knowledge were more likely to check the relevant air pollution index on a daily basis. Our results indicate that the provision of accurate and timely information about air quality to residents will translate into beneficial practices, at least among particularly exposed individuals, such as amateur athletes who regularly practice outdoor sports.
  7. Dhurga DB, Suresh KG, Tan TC, Chandramathi S
    Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 2012 Dec;106(12):725-30.
    PMID: 23141370 DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2012.08.005
    Previous studies have shown that apoptosis-like features are observed in Blastocystis spp., an intestinal protozoan parasite, when exposed to the cytotoxic drug metronidazole (MTZ). This study reports that among the four subtypes of Blastocystis spp. investigated for rate of apoptosis when treated with MTZ, subtype 3 showed the highest significant increase after 72h of in vitro culture when treated with MTZ at 0.1mg/ml (79%; p<0.01) and 0.0001mg/ml (89%; p<0.001). The close correlation between viable cells and apoptotic cells for both dosages implies that the pathogenic potential of these isolates has been enhanced when treated with MTZ. This suggests that there is a mechanism in Blastocystis spp. that actually regulates the apoptotic process to produce higher number of viable cells when treated. Apoptosis may not just be programmed cell death but instead a mechanism to increase the number of viable cells to ensure survival during stressed conditions. The findings of the present study have an important contribution to influence chemotherapeutic approaches when developing drugs against the emerging Blastocystis spp. infections.
  8. Chandirasekar R, Kumar BL, Sasikala K, Jayakumar R, Suresh K, Venkatesan R, et al.
    PMID: 24769293 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2014.04.007
    Inexpensive forms of tobacco are widely used in developing countries such as India. We have evaluated genotoxicity endpoints (chromosome aberrations, micronucleus frequency, comet assay) and polymorphisms of the XRCC1 and p53 genes among smokers and smokeless tobacco (SLT) users in rural Tamilnadu, South India. Cytogenetic, DNA damage and SNP analyses were performed on peripheral blood samples; micronucleus frequency was measured in peripheral blood and buccal mucosa exfoliated cells. Both categories of tobacco users had elevated levels of genotoxic damage. SNP analysis of tobacco users revealed that 17% carry the XRCC1 gln399gln genotype and 19% carry the p53 pro72pro genotype. Both genotypes are associated with increased risk of cancer.
  9. Suresh K, Mak JW, Chuong LS, Ragunathan T, Init I
    Parasitol Res, 1997;83(6):523-5.
    PMID: 9211501
  10. Ravichandran J, Woon SY, Quek YS, Lim YC, Noor EM, Suresh K, et al.
    Am J Med, 2019 03;132(3):362-366.
    PMID: 30503877 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2018.11.017
    PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of circulating concentrations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTn) in the various trimesters of pregnancy in patients with and without hypertension.

    METHODS: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of pregnant and postnatal women aged between 18-35 years with no coexisting diseases. Serum samples were analysed for hs-TnI.

    RESULTS: A total of 880 women (mean age = 29.1 years [standard deviation = 5.1 years]) were recruited with 129 (14%), 207 (24%), and 416 (47%) patients in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. Ninety (10%) participants were recruited in the postnatal period. During pregnancy 28 (3%) patients were classified as having pregnancy-induced hypertension and 10 (1%) as preeclampsia. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I was measurable in 546 (62%) participants with a median of 1 ng/L (range 0 to 783 ng/L). Troponin concentrations were above the 99th percentile in 19 (2%) individuals. Patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia had higher concentrations of hs-TnI (median 11 ng/L [interquartile range (IQR) 6 to 22 ng/L] vs 12ng/L [IQR 3 to 98 ng/L] vs 1 ng/L [IQR 0 to 1 ng/L]). In logistic regression modeling hs-cTnI concentration remained an independent predictor of pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia in both unadjusted and adjusted models (odds ratio 9.3 [95% confidence interval 5.8 to 16.3] and 11.5 [95% confidence interval 6.3 to 24.1], respectively, per doubling of hs-TnI concentrations).

    CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac troponin measured using a high-sensitivity assay is quantifiable in the majority of young pregnant women with 2% of individuals having concentration above the 99th percentile sex-specific threshold. Patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia had higher cardiac troponin concentrations. Cardiac troponin was a strong independent predictor of pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia in pregnant and postnatal women.

  11. Gaythri T, Suresh K, Subha B, Kalyani R
    PLoS One, 2014;9(9):e95608.
    PMID: 25180903 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095608
    Protistan parasites in order to ensure their viability and demonstrate successful progression in their life cycle need to respond towards various environmental stressors. Blastocystis sp. is known to be the most commonly found intestinal protistan parasite in any human stool surveys and has been incriminated to be responsible for diarrhea and bloating stomach. The present study demonstrates for the first time the presence of HSP70 in subtypes of Blastocystis sp. when the cultures were subjected to temperature of 39 and 41 °C where the growth of parasites was reduced to a minimum to majority being granular forms. The growth of parasites exposed to higher temperatures however doubled compared to the controls when the parasites were re-cultured back at 37 °C. Upon thermal stress at 41 °C, subtype 3 and subtype 5 isolates' growth reached up to 2.97 × 10(6) and 3.05 × 10(6) cells/ml compared to their respective controlled culture tubes at 37 °C which peaked only at 1.34 × 10(6) and 1.70 × 10(6) cells/ml respectively. The designed primer set that amplified Blastocystis sp. subtype 7 HSP70 gene in subtypes 1, 3 and 5 was against a conserved region. The gene was amplified at 318 bp. The multiple sequence alignment showed that the targeted sequence length ranges from 291-295 bp. The pair wise alignment result showed that the sequence identity among the four sequence ranges from 88% to 96%. These findings were further evidenced by the up regulation of HSP70 gene in thermal stressed isolates of subtype 3 and 5 at 41 °C. Higher number of granular forms was significantly found in thermal stressed isolates of subtype 3 and 5 which implicates that this life cycle stage has a role in responding to thermal stress.
  12. Suresh K, Init I, Reuel PA, Rajah S, Lokman H, Khairul Anuar A
    Parasitol Res, 1998;84(4):321-2.
    PMID: 9569099
  13. Pirehma M, Suresh K, Sivanandam S, Anuar AK, Ramakrishnan K, Kumar GS
    Parasitol Res, 1999 Oct;85(10):791-3.
    PMID: 10494803
    Acanthamoeba sp. is a free-living amoeba known to cause chronic central nervous system infection or eye infection in humans. Many cases remain undetected for want of a good detection system. We report for the first time a rapid staining method to facilitate the identification of Acanthamoeba sp. using the modified Field's staining technique. A. castellanii, which was used in the present experiment, is maintained in our laboratory in mycological peptone medium (Gibco). The cultures were pooled together and smears were made on glass slides for staining purposes. Different types of stains such as Field's stain, modified Field's stain, Wright's stain, Giemsa stain, Ziehl-Neelsen stain, and trichrome stain were used to determine the best stain for the identification of this amoeba. The concentration of various stains and the duration of staining were varied to provide the best color and contrast for each stain. Acanthamoeba was also obtained from the brain of experimentally infected mice and was stained with various stains as mentioned above to determine the best stain for use in identifying the presence of this parasite in experimentally infected animals. The modified Field's stain gives a very good color contrast as compared with other stains. Furthermore, it takes only 20 s to be carried out using the least number of reagents, making it suitable for both laboratory and field use.
  14. Dongare S, Gupta SK, Mathur R, Saxena R, Mathur S, Agarwal R, et al.
    Mol Vis, 2016;22:599-609.
    PMID: 27293376
    PURPOSE: Diabetic retinopathy is a common microvascular complication of long-standing diabetes. Several complex interconnecting biochemical pathways are activated in response to hyperglycemia. These pathways culminate into proinflammatory and angiogenic effects that bring about structural and functional damage to the retinal vasculature. Since Zingiber officinale (ginger) is known for its anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic properties, we investigated the effects of its extract standardized to 5% 6-gingerol, the major active constituent of ginger, in attenuating retinal microvascular changes in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

    METHODS: Diabetic rats were treated orally with the vehicle or the ginger extract (75 mg/kg/day) over a period of 24 weeks along with regular monitoring of bodyweight and blood glucose and weekly fundus photography. At the end of the 24-week treatment, the retinas were isolated for histopathological examination under a light microscope, transmission electron microscopy, and determination of the retinal tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels.

    RESULTS: Oral administration of the ginger extract resulted in significant reduction of hyperglycemia, the diameter of the retinal vessels, and vascular basement membrane thickness. Improvement in the architecture of the retinal vasculature was associated with significantly reduced expression of NF-κB and reduced activity of TNF-α and VEGF in the retinal tissue in the ginger extract-treated group compared to the vehicle-treated group.

    CONCLUSIONS: The current study showed that ginger extract containing 5% of 6-gingerol attenuates the retinal microvascular changes in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes through anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic actions. Although precise molecular targets remain to be determined, 6-gingerol seems to be a potential candidate for further investigation.

  15. Chandramathi S, Suresh K, Sivanandam S, Kuppusamy UR
    PLoS One, 2014;9(5):e94567.
    PMID: 24788756 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094567
    Stress alters the oxidant-antioxidant state and immune cell responses which disrupts its function to combat infection. Blastocystis hominis, a common intestinal protozoan has been reported to be opportunistic in immunocompromised patients namely cancer. B. hominis infectivity in other altered immune system conditions especially stress is unknown. We aimed to demonstrate the stress effects towards the susceptibility and pathogenicity of B. hominis infection.
  16. Chandramathi S, Suresh K, Anita ZB, Kuppusamy UR
    Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 2012 Apr;106(4):267-9.
    PMID: 22340948 DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.12.008
    Chemotherapy can cause immunosuppression, which may trigger latent intestinal parasitic infections in stools to emerge. This study investigated whether intestinal parasites can emerge as opportunistic infections in breast and colorectal cancer patients (n=46 and n=15, respectively) undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Breast cancer patients were receiving a 5-fluorouracil/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide (FEC) regimen (6 chemotherapy cycles), and colorectal cancer patients were receiving either an oxaliplatin/5-fluorouracil/folinic acid (FOLFOX) regimen (12 cycles) or a 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid (Mayo) regimen (6 cycles). Patients had Blastocystis hominis and microsporidia infections that were only present during the intermediate chemotherapy cycles. Thus, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy should be screened repeatedly for intestinal parasites, namely B. hominis and microsporidia, as they may reduce the efficacy of chemotherapy treatments.
  17. Chan KH, Chandramathi S, Suresh K, Chua KH, Kuppusamy UR
    Parasitol Res, 2012 Jun;110(6):2475-80.
    PMID: 22278727 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-011-2788-3
    The pathogenesis of Blastocystis hominis in human hosts has always been a matter of debate as it is present in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. A recent report showed that B. hominis isolated from an asymptomatic individual could facilitate the proliferation and growth of existing cancer cells while having the potential to downregulate the host immune response. The present study investigated the differences between the effects of symptomatic and asymptomatic derived solubilized antigen of B. hominis (Blasto-Ag) on the cell viability and proliferation of colorectal cancer cells. Besides that, the gene expression of cytokine and nuclear transcriptional factors in response to the symptomatic and asymptomatic B. hominis antigen in HCT116 was also compared. In the current study, an increase in cell proliferation was observed in HCT116 cells which led to the speculation that B. hominis infection could facilitate the growth of colorectal cancer cells. In addition, a more significant upregulation of Th2 cytokines observed in HCT116 may lead to the postulation that symptomatic Blasto-Ag may have the potential in weakening the cellular immune response, allowing the progression of existing tumor cells. The upregulation of nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) was observed in HCT116 exposed to symptomatic Blasto-Ag, while asymptomatic Blasto-Ag exhibited an insignificant effect on NF-κB gene expression in HCT116. HCT116 cells exposed to symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-Ag caused a significant upregulation of CTSB which lead to the postulation that the Blasto-Ag may enhance the invasive and metastasis properties of colorectal cancer. In conclusion, antigen isolated from a symptomatic individual is more pathogenic as compared to asymptomatic isolates as it caused a more extensive inflammatory reaction as well as more enhanced proliferation of cancer cells.
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