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Fulltext Achievements and progress beyond the current global pandemic

Yoke Kqueen Cheah

Life Sciences, Medicine and Biomedicine, 2021;5(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Life Sciences, Medicine and Biomedicine was established in 2017 as an open access, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal. The journal welcomes submissions in all areas of life sciences, medicine and biomedicine with a selection of relevant biological sciences on a case by case basis. It is expected that the wide scope of the journal will promote multidisciplinary collaboration and attract research papers from diverse scientific settings. To put things into perspective, the first issue was published at the end of 2017, with four issues per year through 2018 and 2019 respectively. In 2020, the publication frequency was changed to a single issue annually, adopting to the continuous publication model practiced by many others. Manuscripts are processed for peer-review, and published as they are accepted throughout the year. This method has helped the editorial office to streamline the editorial process. Accepted articles are prepared for publication more robustly and in a timely manner. Based on this experience, the current model of continuous publication will be maintained. In addition to research and review articles, the journal also accepts submissions for mini reviews, opinion pieces and case reports.

For the upcoming Volume 6 Issue 1 which will be accepting articles throughout 2022, the journal will be implementing a number of changes to the submission and editorial process. One area currently being improved is the mechanism to allow authors to submit manuscripts with very minimal formatting. Based on the feedback received from our authors, this will significantly reduce the time taken for new submissions to go through initial quality checks and approval, so that the peer-review process can commence as soon as possible. The new author’s guide will be updated and implemented in September 2021. Taking into account the global pandemic, the article processing charges for accepted manuscripts are waived throughout 2021. Further discussions are currently being held to provide financial assistance for future article processing charges for authors that may require them.

Despite the challenging period the world is currently facing, the growth of the journal continues. The journal attributes this achievements to the scholarly contributions of the authors, reviewers and editors. During this similar period, the journal received successful approval for indexing with the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and Scilit. It is also indexed in MyJurnal (Citation and Infometric Division of the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia). Editorial good practices will continue to be enhanced based on industry standards to ensure the journal attracts high quality scientific work. Preparation is also in progress for indexing with other major indexing organizations, which will assist authors and articles to reach a wider global audience.

While the journal was initially established for the Malaysian scientific community, the current focus is for authorship and readership coverage to reach as widely as possible within the South East Asian and Asian regions. With this in mind, the expansion of the editorial board members now include experts from Malaysia, Philippines and Hong Kong. Additional editorial roles are currently being explored to complement the multidisciplinary scope of the journal, with plans for each field of research to spearhead its own section. For the journal to reach a wider global scientific community, the International Advisory Board consisting of experts from Singapore, UK, Japan, Bangladesh, China, Iraq, Philippines and Malaysia was recently established. The advisory board will provide feedback on current strategies and future direction for the international expansion of the journal, establishing good practices and will submit an annual assessment for continuous quality improvement.

It is equally exciting to announce that the journal will publish a special issue this year for the Asian Conference on Biomedical Research and Laboratory Medicine 2021 organized by the Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemist in collaboration with Malaysian Association of Biomedical Sciences and Association of Scientific Officers of the Ministry of Health, Malaysia from the 24-26 August 2021.
Fulltext Bioinformatics in the identification of microorganisms

Chiann Ying Yeoh, Yoke Kqueen Cheah

Life Sciences, Medicine and Biomedicine, 2020;4(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Rapid and accurate identification of microorganisms can be of great value for clinical management. For many fastidious and slow-growing microorganisms, the conventional method used for detection is time-consuming, costly and labour-intensive. Hence, the development of new and improved microbial identification methods are necessary to overcome this bottleneck. Current trend has shifted towards the use of new molecular technologies in genomics and proteomics for bacterial identification and characterization. This mini review will focus on summarizing different types of genotypic and proteomics identification methods, as well as bioinformatics tools used for rapid identification and characterization of microorganisms from various specimens.
Fulltext Actinobacteria from Greenwich island and Dee island: isolation, diversity and distribution

Pek, Lim Chu, Chai, Hoon Khoo, Yoke, Kqueen Cheah

Life Sciences, Medicine and Biomedicine, 2017;1(1):1-17.
MyJurnal

Actinobacteria from underexplored and unusual environments have gained significant attention for their capability in producing novel bioactive molecules of diverse chemical entities. Streptomyces is the most prolific Actinobacteria in producing useful molecules. Rapid decline effectiveness of existing antibiotics in the treatment of infections are caused by the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. Intensive efforts are urgently required in isolating non-Streptomyces or rare Actinobacteria and understanding of their distribution in the harsh environment for new drug discovery. In this study, pretreatment of soil samples with 1.5% phenol was used for the selective isolation of Actinobacteria from Dee Island and Greenwich Island. A high number of non-Streptomyces (69.4%) or rare Actinobacteria was significantly recovered despite the Streptomyces (30.6%), including the genera Micromonospora, Micrococcus, Kocuria, Dermacoccus, Brachybacterium, Brevibacterium, Rhodococcus, Microbacterium and Rothia. Reduced diversity and shift of distribution were observed at the elevated level of soil pH. The members of genera Streptomyces, Micromonospora and Micrococcus were found to distribute and tolerate to a relatively high pH level of soil (pH 9.4-9.5), and could potentially be alkaliphilic Actinobacteria. The phylogenetic analysis had revealed some potentially new taxa members of the genera Micromonospora, Micrococcus and Rhodococcus. Principal Component Analysis of soil samples was used to uncover the factors that underlie the diversity of culturable Actinobacteria. Water availability in soil was examined as the principal factor that shaped the diversity of the Actinobacteria, by providing a dynamic source for microbial interactions and elevated diversity of Actinobacteria.
Fulltext Construction and investigation of plasmid-induced effects on growth of GFP-expressing Salmonella strains

Ubaidah Naim Taraq Naem Zia, Deepah Samynathan, Hasni Idayu Saidi, Gayathri Thevi Selvarajah, Yoke Kqueen Cheah

Life Sciences, Medicine and Biomedicine, 2021;5(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Background: Bacteria such as the Salmonella species had been extensively studied not only for its mechanism of pathogenicity, but for its beneficial utilisation in bacterial-mediated tumour therapy. Genetically modified bacterial strain, BDLA Salmonella Agona (BDLA S. Agona) had shown great promise as tumour targeting and suppressing agent. By, constructing green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing of this strain, it would be beneficial as it could be used to further study the interaction of the BDLA S. Agona strain with various cancerous cells and the host at the systemic level. However, GFP plasmid-induced strains may exhibit growth defects, and this was investigated in this study. Methods: The GFP-transformed Salmonella strains were constructed, and the replication rate of the strains were investigated using the BacterioScan™ 216R instrument. The replication rate between the strains was compared from the 24-hour data collected and analysed as growth curves. The 24-hour growth curves were constructed using the Log CFU/mL and OD650 data collected by the instrument. Results: It was observed from the growth curves that the transformation of the GFP plasmid into different Salmonella strains did not affect the replication rate of the bacteria. Discussion and Conclusion: This finding answers the objective of the study, and it was concluded that incorporation of the GFP plasmid does not cause any negative effect on bacterial growth. GFP-transformed Salmonella, specifically the BDLA S. Agona strain, could be utilised as a powerful tool for future studies on the mechanism of tumour suppression and real-time in vivo biodistribution of the strain.
Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of genetically modified organisms

Yoke-Kqueen C, Radu S

J Biotechnol, 2006 Dec 15;127(1):161-6.
PMID: 16860900

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to analyzed 78 samples comprises of certified reference materials (soya and maize powder), raw seeds (soybean and maize), processed food and animal feed. Combination assay of two arbitrary primers in the RAPD analysis enable to distinguish genetically modified organism (GMO) reference materials from the samples tested. Dendrogram analysis revealed 13 clusters at 45% similarity from the RAPD. RAPD analysis showed that the maize and soybean samples were clustered differently besides the GMO and non-GMO products.
miR-205 in situ expression and localization in head and neck tumors - a tissue array study

Nurul-Syakima AM, Learn-Han L, Yoke-Kqueen C

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(21):9071-5.
PMID: 25422181

BACKGROUND: microRNAs are small non-coding RNA that control gene expression by mRNA degradation or translational inhibition. These molecules are known to play essential roles in many biological and physiological processes. miR-205 may be differentially expressed in head and neck cancers; however, there are conflicting data and localization of expression has yet to be determined.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: miR-205 expression was investigated in 48 cases of inflammatory, benign and malignant tumor tissue array of the neck, oronasopharynx, larynx and salivary glands by Locked Nucleic Acid in situ hybridization (LNA-ISH) technology.
RESULTS: miR-205 expression was significantly differentially expressed across all of the inflammatory, benign and malignant tumor tissues of the neck. A significant increase in miR-205 staining intensity (p<0.05) was observed from inflammation to benign and malignant tumors in head and neck tissue array, suggesting that miR-205 could be a biomarker to differentiate between cancer and non-cancer tissues.
CONCLUSIONS: LNA-ISH revealed that miR-205 exhibited significant differential cytoplasmic and nuclear staining among inflammation, benign and malignant tumors of head and neck. miR-205 was not only exclusively expressed in squamous epithelial malignancy. This study offers information and a basis for a comprehensive study of the role of miR-205 that may be useful as a biomarker and/or therapeutic target in head and neck tumors.
Analysis of Salmonella Agona and Salmonella Weltevreden in Malaysia by PCR fingerprinting and antibiotic resistance profiling

Learn-Han L, Yoke-Kqueen C, Salleh NA, Sukardi S, Jiun-Horng S, Chai-Hoon K, et al.

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 2008 Oct;94(3):377-87.
PMID: 18548329 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-008-9254-y

Forty-eight strains of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Agona and 33 strains of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Weltevreden were characterized by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting using 3 different arbitrary primer, Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus-Polymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. By using RAPD, 81 strains (44 strains of S. Agona and 33 strains of S. Weltevreden) can be clustered into 14 groups and 6 single isolates whereas ERIC-PCR produced 7 clusters and 3 single isolates. Thirteen antimicrobial agents were used and all the isolates were resistant to erythromycin and showed Multiple Antimicrobial Resistance indexes, ranging from 0.08 to 0.62. Poultry still remain as the common reservoir for multi-drug-resistant Salmonella. On the other hand, vegetables contaminated with S. Weltevreden showed a gain in antimicrobial resistance. Besides that, consistent antibiograms were observed from S. Weltevreden isolated at Kajang wet market on 2000/08/02.
p53 codon 72 polymorphisms and random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of non-melanoma skin cancer through archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue

Yoke-Kqueen C, Ab Mutalib NS, Sidik SM, Learn-Han L, Geok-Chin T

Oncol Rep, 2012 Mar;27(3):753-63.
PMID: 22159872 DOI: 10.3892/or.2011.1581

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is classified among the ten most frequent cancers in Malaysia. A common polymorphism at codon 72 of the p53 tumor suppressor gene and its influence on cancer risk has been studied for different types of cancer with mixed and inconsistent results with limited published data on the Malaysian population so far. In the present study, the frequency of p53 codon 72 polymorphism in 60 patients with NMSC was investigated from archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue obtained from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM). Additionally, random amplified polymorhic DNA -polymorphic chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) was employed for preliminary biomarker development. NMSC FFPE samples (70%) possess Arg/Arg, 20% with Pro/Pro and 10% with Arg/Pro. In total, there was no significant difference in the p53 codon 72 genotypes between histological types of NMSC, gender, race, tumor location and age group. However, there was an apparent age-associated increase in the Arg/Arg genotype but did not reach statistical significance (P=0.235). NMSC types and demographic characteristics did not influence genotype distribution. On the other hand, BCC and SCC distributions are influenced by age group, race and tumor location.
Analysis of chemical constituents, antimicrobial and anticancer activities of dichloromethane extracts of Sordariomycetes sp. endophytic fungi isolated from Strobilanthes crispus

Jinfeng EC, Mohamad Rafi MI, Chai Hoon K, Kok Lian H, Yoke Kqueen C

World J Microbiol Biotechnol, 2017 Jan;33(1):5.
PMID: 27844243

Plants are primary source of natural product drugs. However, with every new bioactive molecule reported from a plant source, there follows reports of endangered status or even extinction of a medicinally important plant due to over-harvesting. Hence, the attention turned towards fungi namely the endophytes, which reside within medicinally important plants and thus may have acquired their medicinal properties. Strobilanthes crispus is a traditional medicinal plant which has been used traditionally to treat kidney stones, diabetes, hypertension and cancer as well as having antimicrobial activities. In our efforts to bioprospect for anticancer and antimicrobial metabolites, two fungal endophytes most closely related to the Sordariomycetes sp. showed promising results. Sample (PDA)BL3 showed highest significant antimicrobial activity against 6 bacteria at 200 µg/disc whereas sample (PDA)BL5 has highest significant anticancer activity against all 5 cancer cell lines at concentrations ranging from 30 to 300 μg/ml. As for the gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) results, a total of 20 volatile metabolites identified from sample (PDA)BL3 and 21 volatile metabolites identified from sample (PDA)BL5 having more than 1% abundance. Both GC-MS analysis showed that compound Pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexahydro-3-(2-methylpropyl) has the highest abundance at 15.10% abundance for sample (PDA)BL3 and 19.00% abundance for sample (PDA)BL5 respectively. In conclusion, these results have shown bio-prospecting potential of endophytic fungi having antimicrobial and anticancer activities as well as its potential secondary metabolites of interest. Therefore, this work has further indicated the medicinal and industrial potential of endophytic fungi.